COCOA, Fla. — Cocoa police say Lateef Williams never denied placing a GPS tracking device on his ex-girlfriend’s car to monitor her movements, an act investigators say violated Florida’s newly strengthened anti-stalking law.
According to police reports, the Orlando firefighter told officers exactly where to find the device, which had been attached underneath the woman’s vehicle without her knowledge in October. Investigators said the tracker was still active and transmitting the victim’s location as recently as December 13th.
Authorities said concerns escalated after the victim reported Williams repeatedly showed up at her workplace, followed her, and left a handwritten note on her car warning that she had “nowhere to go and no place to hide.” Police said Williams claimed the woman had stolen medication from him.
“I find that in domestic violence and domestic situations, there’s a certain level of entitlement when people think, ‘That’s my spouse,’” said defense attorney Joe Castrofort. “This is making it clear you don’t have that right.”
The Orlando Fire Department declined to comment on the specific allegations but confirmed Williams has been placed on leave without pay.
“We took this arrest very seriously and, as is our practice, initiated an immediate internal investigation,” the department wrote in a statement. “The firefighter involved has been placed on leave without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Williams’ arrest comes as Florida enforces a new law that makes it a felony to secretly place or use a GPS or other tracking device to follow someone without their consent.
The law, which took effect around the same time Williams is accused of placing the tracker, applies to both physical devices and software-based tracking applications that reveal a person’s location or movements.
Exceptions include law enforcement acting in an official capacity, parents tracking minor children, caregivers monitoring someone in their care, or individuals tracking their own vehicles.
Penalties increase when unlawful tracking is connected to other crimes, including domestic violence or stalking.
“If you are tracking someone with the intent to commit one of these forcible felonies enumerated by law, and that can be any act of domestic violence, then you are guilty of a second-degree felony,” Castrofort said.
In addition to witness tampering, Williams is also charged with domestic stalking.
Court records show the case is not Williams’ first encounter with the criminal justice system. In 2023, he was arrested in an unrelated case involving aggravated assault and battery charges against another firefighter.
The case remains under investigation.
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