Article Courtesy of WFTV
Channel 9
By Karla Ray
Published November 14, 2020
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WATCH
VIDEO |
Only 9 Investigates sat one on one with former Osceola County Commissioner and
newly elected State Rep. Fred Hawkins, in his first interview after being
arrested in the county he served for more than a decade.
Channel 9
investigative reporter Karla Ray has covered every
development in this saga for more than a year. It all
stemmed from a homeowners association fight at Turnberry
Reserve in Kissimmee.
Hawkins won the election to represent District 42, which
covers parts of Osceola and Polk County, but barely. Polk
County voters pushed Hawkins over the threshold, but he lost
the vote in Osceola County. But he said he’s ready to move
on and focus on his future in Tallahassee.
“I wish I handled things different, and I apologize for what
I put my family and supporters through due to that, but I’ll
always be passionate in helping my citizens,” Hawkins said
about his use of a special deputy badge, which led to his
arrest on charges of impersonating a law enforcement
officer.
Hawkins' path to Tallahassee went through Turnberry Reserve,
and the Osceola County Jail, after he pulled out that
special deputy badge at a Turnberry Reserve HOA election
meeting a year ago. |
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Video: Former Osceola County commissioner, newly
elected State Rep. Fred Hawkins discusses arrest, legislative plans.
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Though his arrest for impersonating an officer would come months later,
then-Turnberry Reserve security guard Ailyn DePena was arrested that night
for battery against him. Her charges were later dropped.
“She put a clipboard against me, that’s all,” Hawkins said when Ray asked if
DePena battered him. “I’ll tell you, it happened so quick and he told me to
stay inside, the crowd was really getting rowdy, it was a bad situation all
around, and I think all of us wish we could’ve done things differently.”
DePena ultimately became the victim in the FDLE case against Hawkins,
leading to his July arrest.
“It was hard, you knew you were going to be on TV, be the lead story, but I
learned a lot from it,” Hawkins said. “A lot about myself, who my friends
were, and how to trust the process.”
Hawkins struck a deal with prosecutors to enter a pre-trial diversion
program. According to the State Attorney’s office, his charges will be
dropped once he pays for the cost of the investigation and takes a course on
impulse control. Then, it’s off to Tallahassee, with no criminal record.
“I did nothing wrong, I’m not guilty of anything, and if we went through
this process through the courts, I can tell you with all we were bringing
forward, I don’t think anyone would’ve found us guilty,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins has ideas already for legislation, starting with looking into
possible mandatory minimum sentencing for domestic violence in honor of
Nicole Montalvo. Investigators believe Montalvo was murdered by an ex who
had been accused of domestic violence in the past.
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