close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

    • Former PSLPD State Assistant William Vega pleads guilty to misdemeanor
    asane

    Former PSLPD State Assistant William Vega pleads guilty to misdemeanor

    Online Niel Posted on

    play

    STUART — Former Port St. Assistant Chief of Police. Lucie, William Vega Jr., pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony in connection with what the Florida Department of Law Enforcement described last year as “a falsification of records scheme to allow high school football athletes to attend and compete for schools outside of their residential boundaries.”

    In September 2023, William Vega, 52, was an assistant police chief when he was accused of helping facilitate the fraudulent rental and provision of personal information to three parents, who used that to improperly meet requirements allowing their children to enroll and play football at Martin County High School, FDLE and court records show.

    Eight people in all — including Vega’s brother and sister-in-law, veteran police Sgt. Robert Vega, 49, and Nixalys Vega, 47 — were arrested on multiple felonies and misdemeanors.

    Since then, Robert Vega has been on administrative leave without pay from the Port St. Police Department. Lucie, spokesman Sgt. said Dominick Mesiti.

    Both Nixalys Vega and William Vega opted to avoid a trial Wednesday by accepting plea deals negotiated with state prosecutors.

    Change of plea

    Robert Vega watched from the back of a courtroom as William Vega answered a series of brief questions from Circuit Judge William Roby, who approved the plea agreement, which includes William Vega serving a year of probation and pay FDLE $39,404 for the cost of investigating the case.

    The terms of the plea call for William Vega to also give up his law enforcement officer certification.

    “At this point, I understand you want to plead guilty… is that correct?” Roby asked Vega.

    “Yes, your honor,” he replied, standing on a dais in a light gray suit.

    “And you’re doing it because you’re guilty, right?” Roby pressed.

    “Yes, sir,” said Vega.

    Specifically, William Vega pleaded guilty to attempted perjury by false statement, a first-degree misdemeanor that was originally charged as a third-degree felony charge of perjury by false statement.

    In exchange, the state dropped 10 counts, which included three counts of criminal use of identification and three counts of grand larceny.

    Roby then approved a plea deal for Nixalys Vega in which she pleaded no contest to attempted fraudulently obtaining a driver’s license – a lesser included offense of fraudulently obtaining a driver’s license.

    She also pleaded no contest to one count of false statement, perjury.

    Roby withheld a guilty finding, meaning Nixalys Vega will not have a conviction on her record, and ordered her to serve one year of probation. She must also pay $420 in court costs.

    When court was closed, William Vega, Robert Vega and Nixalys Vega immediately left without comment.

    Records show she and her husband Robert Vega were charged with efforts to enroll their son through the Martin County School District. The teenager enrolled at Martin County High School as a freshman and was a backup quarterback. He played starting quarterback in several games of the season beginning in the fall of 2022. He then enrolled at a private school in Palm Beach County.

    After court, Assistant State’s Attorney David Lustgarten said the negotiated pleas followed a “thorough review and analysis of the facts” alleged in the FDLE investigation.

    “There were some evidentiary issues that arose as a result of the depositions. Another issue on our end is that Martin County schools are now open enrollment as far as I know,” Lustgarten said.

    “That means none of this should be done today for parents to get their kids in their minds, to better schools, and whatever reasons they might have wanted their kids to go to high school , apart from the football team. .”

    In addition, prosecutors did not want to turn the parents against their children as state witnesses during a trial, he said.

    “Our analysis, given the nature of the allegations, is that we didn’t want to put them in that position,” Lustgarten said.

    He also noted the investigation and resulting charges cost William Vega his job with the Port St. Police. Lucia in May 2023.

    “Unlike the rest of the parents… he lost his job. And when I say ‘loses his job,’ he would have ended up being fired from the state’s point of view, and he resigned as a result,” Lustgarten said. “That resignation, obviously, was quite a penalty for him.”

    Lustgarten said he expects similar deals to be reached with other parents charged in the case: Jeron Atwater, 42, and Guilnar Saintelus, 41, both of Port St. Lucy; and Lisa Stone, 48, of Fort Pierce. All face charges including: illegal driver’s license acts, perjury, perjury by false written statement and grand theft.

    “The other co-defendants, I suspect shortly,” he said, “will be filing notices of plea changes similar to what Miss Vega received today.”

    Lustgarten was more guarded when discussing the Robert Vega case.

    “I’m still doing further analysis of his situation and … I suspect he will be the last of the co-defendants,” he said, “and we’ll see where we stand in due course.”

    Scott Richardson, after the court said William Vega, who also received permission from Roby to work outside the United States, was “very pleased with the way this case was handled.”

    “He’s able to put that behind him and get on with his life, which is the goal all along,” Richardson said.

    Jerome Stone, who represents Nixalys Vega, said no one charged in the case has profited financially from the actions alleged by FDLE.

    “Everything about this case is about kids who were participating in a sports program that was legal in every other school in the county and across the circuit except for Martin County High School,” Stone said. “She was doing what she thought was appropriate and under the circumstances to allow her child to play and participate in the program at Martin County High School. Because what she did could have been done anywhere else.”

    Nixalys Vega also lost her job, he said.

    “While this case was pending,” Stone said, “it created embarrassment for her, embarrassment for her son, who was in school, and financial hardship for their family in general.”

    Hurricane Milton: Martin County has released an interactive map showing the status of debris cleanup

    Public workshop: Critics oppose JD State Park golf course plan at Overdorf’s Palm City meeting

    Melissa E. Holsman is a legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is the writer and co-host of “Uncertain terms,” a true crime podcast. Reach her at [email protected]. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local Treasure Coast news.

    Online Niel
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like