‘You loot, we shoot’ – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issues a stark warning

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis strongly warned against opportunistic looters looking to strike as the state struggles to recover from the effects of Hurricane Ian. On Friday, the Republican simply said, “You loot, we shoot.”

At a news conference on Friday, DeSantis also said, “The other thing that we’re concerned about, especially in those areas that have been really hit hard, is that we want to make sure we maintain law and order.”

The potential 2024 Republican presidential nominee added, “Don’t even think about looting. Don’t even think about taking advantage of people in this vulnerable situation. And so the local police are involved in monitoring this.’

He continued, “You can have people you know take boats to some of these islands and try to loot people’s homes and I wouldn’t want to risk that if I were you, since we’re a Second Amendment state.”

The governor concluded, “I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you never know what’s lurking behind someone’s house.”

There are sporadic reports of looting in the Sunshine State following the devastation left by Hurricane Ian.

The storm arrived in Florida on Sept. 28 as a Category 4 hurricane, it was later downgraded to a tropical storm as it made its way north toward the Carolinas, briefly regaining hurricane strength across the Atlantic before being banished again.

The devastation wrought by Florida came into focus a day after Ian struck. It was one of the strongest storms to ever hit the US

It flooded homes on both coasts of the state, cut off the only access road to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier, and laid out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utilities. .

After this catastrophe, the owner of Yerb Labs, a holistic healing center, in Plant City on the outskirts of Tampa, said his store had been attacked by looters.

Owner Carlos Tramontana told? WFLA: “I get a call with the video and my neighbor said the police are at your house.”

According to a Facebook post on the Yerb Labs page, the thieves broke into the front door and smashed through the glass cabinets, stealing vapes and other items.

Tramontana said, “It really hurt. It was really sad to see something like that, something you put your heart into, we spent every cent we have on this place.”

While a co-worker, Shay McCully, said, “I was devastated. The first thing I thought of was who and why, and it was just heartbreaking.”

The owner went on to say that he has been told that the insurance will not cover the damage or the stolen items. He added: “It’s very hard when you finally get some momentum and you feel like your heart has been ripped out, because now we have to start over.”

In the town of Bronson, about 140 miles north of Plant City, 27-year-old Matthew Adams was charged with looting when he was found in a closed business. WCJB.

Adams is being held in Levy County Jail on $135,000 bail.

Bonita Beach resident Natalie Sablina posted a photo to Facebook showing a group of looters going through boats blown out of the water by the storm.

Sablina said she also saw a group loot a townhouse in the city, saying: “A luxury townhome complex has garages open to drain water and this gang gave us the most horrible look – like it’s their bounty and we better not in their way.’

She also wrote, “People can be such a mess. I’ve heard of looting, but seeing it in person today was more depressing than material damage.”

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody tweeted Friday, “Florida will not tolerate looters taking advantage of (Hurricane Ian) to prey on vulnerable Floridians.”

“They will be arrested and I have asked the prosecutors to request the longest possible pre-trial detention to keep them locked up so that they cannot commit new crimes,” she wrote.

On Thursday afternoon, a photo showed Lee County sheriffs arresting a group of people. Reporter Gage Goulding, who posted the photo, tweeted, “The sheriff’s officers told me Thursday afternoon that these people had been arrested for looting on Fort Myers Beach.”

In Lee County, where the ruined Fort Myers is located, a curfew was imposed at 6 p.m. to prevent an outbreak of looting.

County Manager Roger Desjarlais said in a press conference on Thursday: “Earlier today, when police were unable to respond due to weather conditions, it was unsafe, Cleveland Avenue was broken into and looted.”

He continued: ‘There was a group of people, don’t know much about them yet, who just had their way. I think it was at one of the Speedway gas stations or one of those and so the city called Fort Meyers . . . to talk about curfew.”

Desjarlais continued: ‘There will be a zero-tolerance policy for looting and violence.’

Ahead of the hurricane’s arrival, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said on Wednesday there would be zero tolerance for looters.

The sheriff said: “A message that is very clear to all those individuals who think they are going out to loot or hunt people during this horrific event.”

He continued: ‘You’d better think twice. When I say zero tolerance, zero tolerance means we’ll track you down, track you down and you’ll go to jail if you’re lucky.”

Despite being downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, officials are still warning of dangerous conditions created by the storm.