Walton County

Man Arrested in Walton County for Trespassing on a Private Beach

Lt. Maule, Walton County Sheriff's Office PIO, said, "A trespassing warning was issued right then and there and the individual continued to let us know he was not going to leave and even told us, 'no! I'm not moving. You'll have to arrest me.'"

The deputies acted under Florida Attorney Gen. Bob Butterworth's interpretation of the state's dry sand private beach property law.

It says if the property owner or their designate tells an individual to leave, and the individual refuses, then law enforcement can arrest that person for trespassing, and that's exactly what Walton County deputies intend to do.

Lt. Maule added, "Until we get a ruling from a higher authority we're going by what that ruling said."

Because it's so hard to tell which part of the beach is private and which is public, beach goers say it's unfair to be arresting people for being on the wrong side of the beach.

Lisa Owens from Atlanta, Ga said, "It's almost as if it's a power play."

The property line hassle kept the majority of Lisa Owens' family from going to the beach this week.

Lisa said, "We lug all our stuff done into an area that's not clear it's a private beach and go unload your stuff and have this space and all of a sudden they want you to move three inches over."

That was their first day in Blue Mountain Beach. Since then Lisa is the only one to return the shoreline. As someone who's vacationed here most of her life, Lisa says it's discouraging.

"The fact that I've never encountered this in X amount of years, 20-plus, 30-plus years, it's very frustrating. We're dealing with this now, and the way they handle it is frustrating as well."

Gonzalez spent a few hours behind bars and then was released on $500 bond.

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/8362917.html

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South Walton resident responds to arrests: Says beach is public

The beach this man was arrested on is not private.

There is a deeded public beach access located between The Blue Mountain Beach Inn and The Retreat.
The plat of the Retreat clearly shows the mean high water line well over 25 feet from the current tide line we had on July 8.
This security guard has continually harassed paying tourists as well as locals that use this beach access.
The officers have no legal rights to arrest anyone that is on the beach within the mean high water line. (Go to the courthouse and see for yourself where that line is documented.), let alone have this security guard make people leave the beach (Have seen him “kick off” uninformed tourists) or move.

Please take a trip for yourself down to this PUBLIC beach access and see what is going on.
Tell me what is a better site to see on the beach, tourists enjoying themselves contributing to our economy or a beach riddled with signs every five feet regarding private property and a security guard harassing every family down there.
Please let me know your thoughts on this story. Believe me, I’ve seen numerous tourists that have conveyed they will not be coming back to vacation in South Walton due to these events. http://www.story.waltonsun.com/article.display.db.php?a=1729

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Walton tourist threatened for trespassing

From: Thomas Beisel, tourist from Atlanta, GA

I would like clarification on what the county's policy and laws are regarding tourist use of Walton County beaches.

This morning my wife, our 11 year old daughter, 10 year old friend, and our two teenage nieces were removed by a Walton County deputy from the two small sand castles our children built within 5 feet of the wave wash.  After being on the beach approximately two hours we were angrily approached by someone who represented themselves as the property owner and told us we had to move. The "property owner", which I assume at this time he really is, sat down on the beach two hours after us and claimed he could not see the ocean because we were sitting on his property.  The property owner was belligerent and patronizing and said if we did not move he would call the Sheriff.  My wife felt threatened by his behavior and called 911 herself.  While we were waiting other families on the beach came up to us to tell us they had the same encounter with this "property owner" days before.  My young daughter was scared that we were going to be arrested by the police for building sand castles. The deputy that arrived said the "owner" was correct and that we could actually be arrested for trespassing.   The deputy said that the property line does go to the "wet zone", if not further out into the ocean. 

The deputy was very professional and courteous and I believe he was enforcing the laws as he understood them. I'm just very puzzled that families are removed so easily.  The Case Number is: WCSO 07 CAD 047786.

Can visiting families really be removed so easily? It appears that the beaches are not public and that we are actually trespassing on others property; is this really the case?  Are visitors welcome or not welcome to Walton County beaches?  I will write an Op-Ed for the Atlanta Constitution regarding this incident and would like the County's position on tourism and property ownership before I do.

Thanks,
Tom Beisel
Atlanta Georgia

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