Longboat forfeiture case back in court

The town could lose thousands of dollars next week if a judge dismisses a case in which the Police Department seeks to take the home of a resident charged with felony video voyeurism.

Police arrested Wayne Natt, 56, in September and charged him with filming people in his home, which he rented on short-term rental website Airbnb, without their consent.

Natt faces 14 third-degree felony charges, alleged crimes Longboat Key Police say could not have been committed without his condo at 623 Cedars Court. Four charges came in 2017 and  10 more came this year.

Police departments in Florida are permitted under the law to take any property they believe was used as an instrument in committing a felony — a crime that could not have been committed without the property in question.

One residence has been taken under the seizure and forfeiture laws since 2001 in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Natt has claimed through his lawyer  that the Longboat Key Police Department has no right to take his home. 

The Longboat Key resident claimed his Cedars East condo as his homestead in 2017, which protects his home from “forced sale under process of any court,” according to the Florida Constitution.

Natt’s claim in the civil case against his property is scheduled to be heard at 2:30 p.m. April 3, in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court.

If the judge decides in his favor, Natt requests that the department pay him $1,500 for a bond he paid for litigation, his attorney fees and any damages to his property in depreciation of value or loss of sale for the property.

If the court decides in favor of the Police Department, the town and its lawyers must prove beyond a reasonable doubt — a burden of proof necessary in criminal cases — that Natt used his property to commit a felony.

And if the court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that Natt used his property to commit a felony, the condo at 623 Cedars Court will become the police department’s property.

The two-story, one-bedroom, two-bath condo at 623 Cedars Court has an assessed value of $170,850, according to Manatee County tax records.