By Anita Todd, Special Articles & Carl Fish
BARTOW – A homeless man is in custody after entering a Polk County government building that houses the Supervisor of Elections Office, Polk County Sheriff’s Office Court Processing Department and some Polk County Clerk of Courts Offices last week after hours.
The suspect, Brandon Marshall, is charged with two counts of Burglary of an Unoccupied Structure (one count during a State of Emergency) and petty theft.
According to reports obtained by the Daily Ridge from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Bartow Police Department, on Sept. 26, Marshall was walking around the Supervisor of Elections building located at 250 Broadway Avenue South in Bartow around 11 p.m. He noticed one of the doors security lights was green so he tried the door and it was unlocked. On video footage from the building, Marshall can be seen “walking around the building in and out of multiple rooms,” according to the PCSO report.
According to that same report, Marshall “gained access to the Elections Office and then gained access to a staircase through an interior door which led to the Sheriff’s Office court process department. Around 11:30 p.m., Marshall called the Fraud Hotline and left a message stating he was locked in the building and was attempting to check on the status of his fraud case.”
However, Lori Edwards, Supervisor of Elections contradicted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office report that Marshall “gained access to the Supervisor Of Elections Office, she said in an email to the Daily Ridge, “I’m happy to report that the Supervisor of Elections internal security measures prevented the interloper from accessing the Supervisor of Elections Office. He was confined to the lobby area. There were no ballots or voting equipment in that office.”
There is also conflicting information regarding why the exterior doors were unlocked and if this was the only time. Edwards wrote that the “Board of County Commission staff installed an electronic lock on another portion of the building that they were previously using for their utilities department. They had it programmed wrong, so during the storm that door unlocked.”
However, the PCSO report states, “It should be noted that the building lost power due to Hurricane Helene. Because the building lost power, all exterior doors lost power and were automatically unlocked.”
Edwards email reads, “The Supervisor of Elections office door has a keyed deadbolt lock and remained locked.”
The Bartow Police Department reported in its findings that this wasn’t the first time this has occurred. “It should be noted, Lt Hostetler advised this Officer, the door to the building had a Green light, which meant the doors were not secured and advised this has been an ongoing issue with the buildings security lock system when Marshall previously was in the building alone.” said the Bartow Police Report.
During Marshall’s burglary he found a set of keys that he took and “then hid on a desk under a piece of paper.” He also consumed food items to include cups of coffee valued at approximately $5, according to the PCSO report.
Marshall is currently in custody at the PCSO jail with a bail set at $31,000. He was arrested on Sept. 27 charged with two felonies and one misdemenor. During the burglary, the State of Florida was under a State of Emergency Executive order 24-156.
Marshall has a list of 21 arrests with the PCSO and had just been released the day before he allegedly committed the burglary of the SOE building. He had just served 24 days for trespassing and resisting an officer without violence. He was released from jail on 09/26/2024, just one day prior to his arrest in this incident. Some of his other charges include possession, grand theft, driving without a license, criminal mischief, and domestic violence.
This is a developing story. Follow the Daily Ridge for updates.
