Prosecutors say they are dropping charges against a disgraced Pinellas County deputy after they found that Florida law does not support criminal charges for his reported conduct.
In a September press conference, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Karl Gwynne, 57, used the agency’s automated license plate reader database to run 381 searches for one license plate, 207 of which were made while off duty.
The vehicle was registered to a 35-year-old woman whom Gwynne arrested in 2010 and had reconnected with through social media in 2024. Gwynne initially told detectives he repeatedly searched her license plate for official purposes, but eventually admitted that she had rejected his romantic advances.
Gwynne was arrested and charged with official misconduct and four counts of accessing a computer network or electronic device without authority.
However, the State Attorney’s Office for the Sixth Judicial Circuit filed a No Information on Oct. 30, saying the current Florida Statutory provisions do not address Gwynne’s reported conduct.
According to the Florida Senate’s website, a person commits an offense against users of electronic devices without authorization when they access the device knowing it is unauthorized, or their manner of use exceeds authorization.
The court document said the state attorney’s office will seek to have the legislature “correct this situation” in the next legislative session, which is scheduled to begin in 2027.
In a Thursday press conference announcing the arrest of a deputy who allegedly used official systems to track his estranged wife, Gualtieri commented on the recent developments in Gwynne’s case.
The sheriff said he was working with the state attorney’s office on Gwynne’s case, noting “disagreements about interpreting the elements of the statute,” but saying he believed they could work through it.
“They filed that No Information last Friday on Gwynne; I wouldn’t have arrested Scott today unless I knew that the elements had been established,” Gualtieri told reporters.
The sheriff also said the state attorney’s office could charge Gwynne a second time.
“Just because they filed a No Information doesn’t mean that they can’t file an Information,” Gualtieri said. “They’re looking at it, and I’m comfortable that it’ll get to the right place.”
