Florida Mayor Accused of Stealing a Dead Woman’s Identity to Use a Handicapped Parking Spot
The mayor of a small Florida town has been accused of stealing the identity of a dead woman to get a handicapped parking placard, PEOPLE confirms.
Darlene Bradley, who has served three terms as the mayor of Davenport, allegedly displayed the placard in her vehicle and left her car in a handicapped parking spot outside city hall.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, who has been investigating, authorities received a tip last month that they should look into the mayor’s parking placard.
According to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, the sheriff’s office learned that neither Bradley nor her husband had ever been issued a special parking permit.
“As a result, covert surveillance was conducted on several dates” the affidvait states.
A placard was hanging from the car’s rear-view mirror, according to the affidavit. Zooming in on it, authorities saw it belonged to a woman named Evelyn Letterman, who died in 2012.
Bradley was arrested on Tuesday and charged with identity theft, counterfeiting a decal and illegally parking in a handicapped spot.
She has not yet entered a plea, and court records do not list an attorney of record. She could not be reached for comment by PEOPLE.
