The five people arrested last month in a drug raid in the Village of Palo Alto have all been determined to be indigent.
All five have completed paperwork with the Sumter County Clerk of Courts indicating they have no financial resources. The five were believed to have been running a drug operation out of a home at 1902 Antonio Place. Neighbors complained to Community Development District 1 supervisors about the home which had become the scourge of the neighborhood.
Having been found indigent, all five suspects will likely rely on the public defender’s office for legal representation.
Facing charges in the case are:
• Charlotte L. Gajewsky, 45, is facing charges including possession and sale of methamphetamine. In 2015, she was arrested for pawning a hospitalized friend’s jewelry.
• Kenneth Ray Padgett, 53, has been charged with possession of weapon/ammunition by a convicted felon as well as multiple drug charges. He was arrested on drug charges in 2014 at Wal-Mart at Buffalo Ridge.
• Kathleen Unrath, 43, is facing charges of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. She has been repeatedly arrested for driving without a license.
• William Romska, 38, is facing charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a new legend drug. He has entered a plea of not guilty in the case.
• Michael Edward Witkowski, 63, is facing charges of possession of marijuana and a new legend drug. Last year, he was found squatting in a home in The Villages. He was released July 6 from the Sumter County Detention Center after posting $4,000 bond. He is the only one to have made bond in the case.
