rockin'robin
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
A Jacksonville man is warning everyone to beware of the maintenance worker. Robert Slater was stunned by what he caught a repairman him doing inside his apartment.
Gerald Bacon was in Slater’s apartment to fix a leak in his bathroom, but was caught on web cam going room to room, rummaging through Slater’s drawers. And it turns out; it was all legal, because of a loophole in Florida law.
Slater (pictured, right) says he actually thought by putting a web camera in an obvious spot for anyone to see, it would be a deterrent. He was wrong.
On the video, you can see the worker opening and closing drawers and digging through Slater’s stuff. At one point, the worker even picks up the web cam, looks right into the camera and puts it back down.
WEBCAM: Apartment surveillance video
As soon as Slater saw this, he called police. Bacon was fired and evicted. He was also arrested because Slater thought an heirloom watch was missing.
Turns out, Slater was mistaken. Since he couldn’t be absolutely sure the maintenance worker had taken anything, the charges against Bacon were dropped.
We asked the State Attorney why Bacon wasn’t prosecuted for rummaging through Slater’s drawers.
“While it is very creepy and very unusual that this man would go rummaging through drawers, we cannot prove a criminal intent to steal or do damage to the homeowner’s items,” explained State Attorney Angela Corey.
Corey adds that if something had been stolen or damaged, then Bacon could have been prosecuted, but going through Slater’s stuff is not illegal because Bacon had permission to be in the apartment. Slater had requested a repairman fix a leak inside his apartment on Hodges Boulevard.
"We would love it if the law said that if you have limited access to someone else's premises and you are found doing anything else that we could prosecute, but the law isn't set up that way," said Corey.
Channel 4’s crime and safety analyst showed me three ways to protect yourself from snooping repairmen. First, he points to personal information.
“You want to put away anything that can compromise your checking account, your savings account, anything that has numbers on it,” explained Ken Jefferson. "All he or she needs is something with your name, social security number or an account number and your ID can be compromised in a matter of minutes. What they'll do is record the information and leave it like you left it there and start using it."
Secondly, Jefferson says if it’s portable, hide it. He’s talking about things like iPads and laptops. Jefferson suggests put those kinds of items in your trunk for safe keeping that day.
Finally, we all tend to stick things in drawers and forget about them. Jefferson says know what’s there before you leave.
“Take an inventory of what you have, to know what’s been taken,” said Jefferson. This should also include any prescription medications. Pills are a common target.
Both Jefferson and Corey say the best defense is to be home when repairs need to be made in your home. If you can’t, setting up a camera is always a good idea. Jefferson says the video never lies. Another suggestion, ask the landlord you want him or her to be there, if a maintenance worker needs to come into your home.
Legal snooping: The loophole in Florida law? | News - Home
A Jacksonville man is warning everyone to beware of the maintenance worker. Robert Slater was stunned by what he caught a repairman him doing inside his apartment.
Gerald Bacon was in Slater’s apartment to fix a leak in his bathroom, but was caught on web cam going room to room, rummaging through Slater’s drawers. And it turns out; it was all legal, because of a loophole in Florida law.
Slater (pictured, right) says he actually thought by putting a web camera in an obvious spot for anyone to see, it would be a deterrent. He was wrong.
On the video, you can see the worker opening and closing drawers and digging through Slater’s stuff. At one point, the worker even picks up the web cam, looks right into the camera and puts it back down.
WEBCAM: Apartment surveillance video
As soon as Slater saw this, he called police. Bacon was fired and evicted. He was also arrested because Slater thought an heirloom watch was missing.
Turns out, Slater was mistaken. Since he couldn’t be absolutely sure the maintenance worker had taken anything, the charges against Bacon were dropped.
We asked the State Attorney why Bacon wasn’t prosecuted for rummaging through Slater’s drawers.
“While it is very creepy and very unusual that this man would go rummaging through drawers, we cannot prove a criminal intent to steal or do damage to the homeowner’s items,” explained State Attorney Angela Corey.
Corey adds that if something had been stolen or damaged, then Bacon could have been prosecuted, but going through Slater’s stuff is not illegal because Bacon had permission to be in the apartment. Slater had requested a repairman fix a leak inside his apartment on Hodges Boulevard.
"We would love it if the law said that if you have limited access to someone else's premises and you are found doing anything else that we could prosecute, but the law isn't set up that way," said Corey.
Channel 4’s crime and safety analyst showed me three ways to protect yourself from snooping repairmen. First, he points to personal information.
“You want to put away anything that can compromise your checking account, your savings account, anything that has numbers on it,” explained Ken Jefferson. "All he or she needs is something with your name, social security number or an account number and your ID can be compromised in a matter of minutes. What they'll do is record the information and leave it like you left it there and start using it."
Secondly, Jefferson says if it’s portable, hide it. He’s talking about things like iPads and laptops. Jefferson suggests put those kinds of items in your trunk for safe keeping that day.
Finally, we all tend to stick things in drawers and forget about them. Jefferson says know what’s there before you leave.
“Take an inventory of what you have, to know what’s been taken,” said Jefferson. This should also include any prescription medications. Pills are a common target.
Both Jefferson and Corey say the best defense is to be home when repairs need to be made in your home. If you can’t, setting up a camera is always a good idea. Jefferson says the video never lies. Another suggestion, ask the landlord you want him or her to be there, if a maintenance worker needs to come into your home.
Legal snooping: The loophole in Florida law? | News - Home
