Suspended deputy returns to work

A Seminole County deputy sheriff will remain at his post with the agency despite his arrest last year for domestic-violence stalking, when he was accused of repeatedly calling and texting a woman, then entering her home and bedroom without permission.

Deputy Quinton Warren was suspended from the sheriff ’s office for about two weeks in February, after the criminal case against him was resolved by his no contest plea to trespassing — a lesser charge to stalking — though the judge declined to convict him. Warren was sentenced to complete anger management classes and 20 hours community service, court records show.

His arrest last March on domestic-violence stalking was not previously reported publicly.

The Seminole County Sheriff ’s Office placed him on paid administrative leave for almost a year after the arrest, awaiting an outcome from the criminal case which concluded in late 2020. Then, the agency completed its own internal investigation, which found Warren violated agency policy on obedience to laws and conduct unbecoming of a deputy, noting that Warren did not leave the woman’s home “when told to leave and also after being told not to come to her home” that night, his final disciplinary notice said. The investigation also determined Warren had previously threatened people close to the woman, in one instance using racial slurs.

The disciplinary notice was recently obtained by the Orlando Sentinel from a public records request.

But Sheriff Dennis Lemma decided not to fire him, noting in his decision that relationship “discord can be a trying and stressful time.”

“Although I do not condone your behavior, based upon the totality of the circumstances, ...” Warren was suspended 86 hours, instead of being terminated, the final notice said. Lemma also required Warren to complete counseling and classes “designed to assist with conflict resolution and anger management.”

SCSO spokeswoman Kim Cannaday said Warren has returned to work as a patrol officer in the north region of the county.

The woman who called police in the case, who the Sentinel is not identifying because she is the victim of alleged domestic violence, said she was disappointed to see Warren face few repercussions for his actions.

“It makes me feel kind of worthless, I call the police for the first time to report something that has

happened [before]… and then to be dismissed the way that I have? It’s heartbreaking,” she said in an interview with the Sentinel. “... Nobody really cared what happened to me.”

While she was clear that she doesn’t wish anything bad toward Warren and thinks he is a good officer for other people, she said she worries that he faced few repercussions for how he treated her. She said his year on paid leave was almost like a vacation , and felt he received a lenient sentence.

“If there was not a consequence for what he has done to me, it will happen to another woman,” she said. “I want him to understand there are consequences for his actions.”

Cannaday noted that was not convicted of trespassing, as his adjudication was withheld. She said detectives looked into allegations about prior domestic violence, “but none could be substantiated.”

Warren’s attorney, James Feuerstein, did not return a call requesting comment.

According to his March 2020 arrest report, Warren called the woman almost 40 times and sent 15 text messages, when she “responded and requested Quinton Jamel Warren Sr. to cease the harassing communication.” Sanford police officers who responded to the incident said most of the texts “served no legitimate purpose other than to inflict emotional harm,” the report said.

He then came unannounced to her home, where she did not answer the door or allow him to come inside. But instead, he got another person in the home to let him in, as the woman locked herself in her bedroom, the report said.

Despite one door locked, Warren entered her bedroom through a different entrance. Warren ignored her pleas to leave and only did so after she threatened to call police, the report said.

She said she was “in fear for her life due to the multiple previous domestic violence incidents,” though she had previously hesitated to report the abuse because she was worried he would lose his job as a deputy, the report said.

Records show she had filed for a domestic violence protective injunction last year in Volusia County, though it was not granted. The court records were not public, so details of that case were not clear.

Warren denied any prior domestic violence, but admitted police have been called to their residence but always for a “verbal argument,” the discipline report said.

While the SCSO internal investigation did not find any other cases of documented domestic violence, they spoke to two people who knew the woman who said Warren threatened them. Warren denied one instance, but the other was caught on video, in which Warren “made threatening statements and also used racial slurs” toward the person. Further details were not included in the report.

The SCSO disciplinary notice said Warren acknowledged that behavior was “not appropriate” and “reflected negatively” on him and the sheriff’s office.

“It is incumbent upon you to refrain from inappropriate behavior and to remove yourself from situations that may escalate,” Lemma wrote. “Your actions have involved threats to persons which will not be tolerated . ... The behavior you displayed is of heightened concern” because of the relationship discord, Lemma wrote.

But he said Warren was “extremely remorseful and did take full responsibility” for his actions, and accepted his relationship with the woman was now over. Lemma said “further behavior of this nature... will likely result in your termination.”

Other Central Florida law enforcement agencies have fired deputies following domestic violence arrests, without waiting for the conclusion of the criminal case.

The woman involved said after seeing how this case ended up, she’s not sure she would call 911 if faced with another instance of domestic violence or stalking.

“I don’t want bad for him, but I feel like, what about me?” she said. “Now that he’s back employed, I’m feeling like, was this just a show?”