A judge has rejected motions for dismissal of perjury charges against two suspended Sumter County commissioners.
Judge Anthony Michael Tatti handed down his decision Friday in Marion County Court in the cases involving Oren Miller of the Village of Sanibel and Gary Search of the Village of Amelia.
The two have been charged with perjury after they allegedly communicated by phone in violation of the Florida Sunshine Law and then lying about it to investigators.
Both men were suspended in December by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the perjury charges, which are third degree felonies.
Miller, Search and Craig Estep were elected in 2020 after commissioners, seen as puppets of the Developer of The Villages, forced through a highly unpopular 25 percent tax increase on homeowners. The trio attempted to make good on their promise to shift the tax burden from homeowners to impact fees paid by developers. The Villages fought the move tooth-and-nail and eventually enlisted state Rep. Brett Hage to change the law. DeSantis signed off on the measure.
This past week, Villagers Diane Spencer and Roberta Ulrich were sworn in to fill the vacancies created by the suspensions of Miller and Search.