STRAY BULLETS FLYING IN PUNTA GORDA! NOTHING DONE!
Two Stray Bullets! One Woman Shot! Children Escaped Harm…FOR NOW!
COUNTY ATTORNEY Janette Knowlton knew and “has done nothing”?
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Ray Sandrock knew and “has done nothing”?
They knew about not one, but (at least) two bullet incidences?!?!? Hundreds of rounds and fragments?
“…county was aware of the safety issues, yet has done nothing to address them”
What was done to make the gun range safe?
DEVELOPER SUES COUNTY
By BRENDA BARBOSA
STAFF WRITER
EAST OF PUNTA GORDA — The asset manager of a new, multimilliondollar residential community has filed a lawsuit against the Charlotte County government and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, alleging stray bullets from a neighboring firing range are threatening the safety of homeowners and the future of the development.
In a complaint filed Wednesday with the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, Maxcy Development Group Holdings — the asset manager of Waterford Estates, a 709-unit residential development currently under construction off Airport Road next to the sheriff’s firing range — is seeking damages in excess of $15,000, along with a permanent injunction against firing activities at the range.
County Attorney Janette Knowlton, who also would represent the CCSO, said the county as of Friday had not been served officially, and therefore she could not comment on the lawsuit.
County commissioners did not respond to requests for comment.
Harry Lerner, president of Maxcy Development, said the county was aware of the safety issues, yet has done nothing to address them.
“We had no other option than to file suit, given an investment of over $20 million in land and improvements, along with new amenities, landscaping and home construction,” Lerner said in a written statement.
When complete, Waterford Estates will have hundreds of single- and multifamily homes, with prices starting in the high $100s.
County officials have said the developer knowingly moved “to the nuisance” and should have done its due diligence prior to purchasing the property.
The range, which has been in operation since the 1970s, abuts the developer’s property and serves as a training facility for a number of law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida Highway Patrol and local police departments.
According to the lawsuit, in November 2013, employees for Comcast Cable found bullets in the roadway while laying conduit at Waterford Estates. Then, in February 2014, Maxcy commissioned a study to see where the bullets were coming from. The study looked specifically at the developer’s lots directly behind the berm where officers shoot their guns.
More than 100 bullet fragments and 130 rounds were found in the lots closest to the line of fire from the gun range, the lawsuit states.
“The results of the preliminary study were brought to the attention of the county … and the Sheriff,” the lawsuit states. “Specific demand was made upon the County and the Sheriff to cease operations at the Gun Range, and they refused to do so.”
In researching whether any incidents of stray bullets previously had been reported the area, the developer found that “there had been previous property damage and personal injury associated with the operation of the Gun Range, and the Sheriff and the County were aware of at least two prior instances,” according to the complaint. The two incidents that allegedly took place were:
• Feb. 21, 2002 — a woman was hit by a stray bullet that was determined to have come from the gun range. According to the complaint, the woman was attending a ballgame at the Carmalita ball field when she was struck by a stray bullet. The Carmalita fields are at the far northeastern boundary of the property.
• Dec. 12, 2007 — a pickup had its rear window broken by a stray bullet that was determined to have come from the gun range. According to the complaint, the man had parked his truck at the Charlotte County Public Works Office in the morning, and when he returned in the afternoon, the rear window was broken and a bullet fragment was found on his rear bumper.
The lawsuit further states that the property on which the gun range sits (and which the county owns) currently is zoned for office, medical and institutional use. Use of the property as a gun range is not permitted in the current zoning, the lawsuit alleges.
“The use of the county property as an improperly operated gun range where stray bullets regularly leave the county property and enter private property,” the lawsuit states, “constitutes a private (and public) nuisance.”
Email: bbarbosa@sun-hearld.com
