City of Punta Gorda set to accept grant for fingerprint equipment

The City of Punta Gorda, Florida is set to accept a grant award that will be used to purchase their own fingerprinting equipment, city council agenda records show.

The Police Department section of the October 16, 2019 consent agenda reveals the $5468.00 grant award from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program will be used tp purchase LiveScan fingerprinting equipment. The equipment will be used to complete fingerprinting for prospective new employees, volunteers, and cleaning personnel.

The acceptance of this grant award comes on the heels of an August 25 news report where the fingerprints of a man taken as part of an employment background check process were used to solve a cold case murder in Brandon, Florida

From Fox News:

"A man linked eight months ago to a Florida 1998 cold case murder ---when he applied for a job requiring his fingerprints for a background check--has been sentenced to life in prison for the crime. 

Todd Barket, 51, of Brandon, Fla., was told his sentence Friday in West Palm Beach after he was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 68-year-old Sondra Better in August 1998. Better was working at Lu Shay's Consignment Store in Delray Beach when she was stabbed and beaten to death during a robbery, investigators said. 

Police said they got their big break in the unsolved case this past December when Barket applied for a job that required a fingerprint background check.His fingerprints matched those found on a decorative marble ball at Lu Shay’s, the Palm Beach Post reported. His DNA also matched evidence from the crime scene."

City council approves funds to purchase license plate readers

Fort Myers city council recently approved funding distribution in the amount of $45,652.00 for the acquisition of license plate readers for the Fort Myers Police Department.

According to documents reviewed by County Examiner, representatives of the Fort Myers and Cape Coral Police Departments, along with the Lee County Port Authority Police and Lee County Human Services met in June to agree on the distribution of $188,768 in funds set aside by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

Funding originated from the 2018 Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program for use by all units of government within Lee County.

In a letter transmitted from Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, the funds will be distributed accordingly:

An examination of the grant application revealed Fort Myers Police Departments prior purchase of equipment from Vetted Security Solutions and finding them to be a reputable company. The acquisition of six additional LPRs from Vigilant will allow FMPD to set the system so it flags:

• Expired License Plate Tags 

• Expired Registration 

• Insurance that is expired 

• Persons of interest in criminal matters 

• Suspended driver's license 

• Outstanding arrest warrant 

• Unpaid taxes or fines 

Florida Statute (316.0778) addresses the records retention requirements of license plate readers. In consultation with the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of State shall establish a retention schedule for records containing images and data generated using an automated license plate recognition system. The retention schedule must establish a maximum period that the records may be retained. 

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