PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Two former Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies have resigned and are facing criminal charges after investigators said they improperly accessed sensitive law enforcement databases for personal reasons.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced the arrests Wednesday, detailing two unrelated cases involving former deputies Travis Stanton, 33, and Carl Gwynn, 57.
The investigations also revealed weaknesses in how the sheriff’s office monitored unusual database activity, prompting the agency to strengthen its auditing procedures.
Former Deputy Accused of Searching Teen’s Information
Stanton resigned Sept. 25 after the sheriff’s office began investigating his interactions with a 17-year-old girl who worked at a fast-food restaurant he frequently visited.
According to Gualtieri, Stanton used several law enforcement databases to gather information about the teenager and her vehicle.
Investigators said Stanton ran the girl’s license plate through Florida’s vehicle registration system using a computer in his patrol vehicle.
“Running the plate of a 17-year-old girl with whom you are interested in is clearly inappropriate and clearly unlawful,” Gualtieri said.
The sheriff said Stanton also went to Seminole High School, where the girl attended classes, to locate her vehicle and allegedly searched the license plate again.
During another encounter at the restaurant, Stanton reportedly asked the teenager whether she wanted to see a photograph of a dead body from an unrelated law enforcement call. She declined.
A sheriff’s office phone Stanton was carrying inadvertently recorded a 17-minute conversation between the two, Gualtieri said.
The girl filed a formal complaint with the sheriff’s office Aug. 26 and told investigators Stanton’s advances made her uncomfortable.
Coworkers reportedly described Stanton as “a little flirty” with the teenager. The sheriff said Stanton also referred to her as his “queen” when speaking with other deputies.
One deputy reportedly questioned Stanton about his interest in the girl because Stanton had recently married. Another told investigators Stanton appeared to be interested in her “in a romantic way.”
Gualtieri said Stanton later acknowledged that “curiosity got the better of him.”
Stanton resigned and was charged with unlawfully accessing secure systems. His bond was set at $10,000.
“It’s not just Flock cameras; there’s more to it,” Gualtieri said. “What Stanton was doing with a 17-year-old girl was horrible.”
Deputy Allegedly Searched Woman’s Information 381 Times
In a separate case, investigators said Gwynn repeatedly searched databases for information about a 35-year-old woman he had arrested years earlier.
Gualtieri said Gwynn wanted a relationship with the woman and had no legitimate law enforcement reason to conduct the searches.
Investigators found Gwynn queried information connected to the woman 381 times.
Of those searches, 300 were made through the sheriff’s office automated license plate reader system between January 2025 and July 2026.
The remaining searches included 32 queries of the state driver’s license database, two searches through Florida’s crime information system, 18 through a statewide law enforcement records system and 29 through the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office records management system.
“There were no legitimate reasons for Gwynn to make these queries,” Gualtieri said.
Gwynn resigned and was arrested on four counts of unlawfully accessing secure systems without an official business purpose. His bond was set at $25,000.
Sheriff Says More Safeguards Are Coming
The cases raised questions about how the sheriff’s office monitors employee access to sensitive databases and why the alleged activity was not detected sooner.
Gualtieri said officers sometimes have legitimate reasons to repeatedly search the same license plate, including narcotics investigations, terrorism cases and threat investigations.
However, he acknowledged the agency had not focused enough on unusually high search volumes.
“The audits were there, but we aren’t focusing on high quantity. We are now,” Gualtieri said.
The sheriff said the agency is making internal changes and working with system manufacturers on software improvements designed to flag unusually frequent searches.
Despite the cases, Gualtieri defended automated license plate readers as important law enforcement tools.
The cameras capture license plate information that can help investigators identify vehicles connected to crimes. Critics have raised concerns about privacy, surveillance and possible misuse of the data.
Gualtieri said the problem in these cases was employee misconduct rather than the technology itself.
“100% it’s not the camera, it’s the people,” he said. “There’s no perfect in this world, and cops aren’t perfect either. But when they mess up, we’re going to hold them accountable.”
He also said he supports stronger safeguards and penalties for misuse.
“I wholeheartedly support having a discussion and greater guardrails on this and making sure that there are harsh consequences for misuse,” Gualtieri said.
