A Villager has entered into a deal in a perjury case that calls for him to step down as a Sumter County commissioner.
Gary Search of the Village of Amelia had already been suspended from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Search, who was elected in 2020 in a wave of voter dissatisfaction due to three previous commissioners closely tied to the Developer of The Villages voting for a 25 percent property tax hike, was charged with perjury last year amid allegations he violated the Florida Sunshine Law by communicating with fellow Commissioner Oren Miller. Miller was also suspended but has filed to run for the seat from which he was removed by DeSantis.
Search signed off on a deal this week in Marion County Court that calls for him to resign his commission seat and not to seek any other public office in Sumter County. In addition, Search will “proffer to the state what he recalls regarding phone calls and any other communications between him and Oren Miller and him and Angie Fox from November 2020 through July 2021, including the manner of communication. Search will enjoy “immunity for the proffer.”
Fox is Miller’s wife and the two have been heavily involved for years in efforts to provide humane treatment of animals in Sumter County.
