Two former Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies were arrested Wednesday following separate investigations into allegations that they improperly accessed restricted law enforcement databases for personal reasons involving women in whom they had a romantic interest.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri discussed the cases during a press conference on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
Travis Stanton Accused of Accessing Information on 17-Year-Old Girl
The first investigation involved former Deputy Travis Stanton, 33. Stanton worked as a Community Deputy assigned to the City of Seminole and was hired by the Agency in November 2017.
According to Gualtieri, the investigation began after a 17-year-old girl reported that Stanton had been repeatedly visiting the fast-food restaurant where she worked, making her uncomfortable, and had apparently accessed private information about her through law enforcement databases.
Gualtieri said Stanton visited the restaurant on July 28, 2026. During that encounter, the girl told Stanton that she drove a Nissan Altima and specifically told him that she was 17 years old.
Minutes after leaving the restaurant, Stanton allegedly used the computer in his patrol vehicle to run the license plate on the girl’s car through the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC).
Gualtieri described the system as highly controlled and restricted to official law enforcement purposes. Personnel with access are required to undergo annual training and testing regarding system security and appropriate use.
The vehicle was registered to the girl’s mother. Investigators said Stanton then used law enforcement databases to obtain the mother’s address and determine who else lived at the residence in an effort to identify the 17-year-old girl.
Stanton also allegedly accessed a driver’s license photograph belonging to the girl’s twin sister.
According to Gualtieri, Stanton returned to the restaurant on July 31, August 11, August 13 and August 18.
On August 19, Stanton allegedly entered the parking lot of Seminole High School, where the girl and her twin sister attended school.
Gualtieri said Stanton initially ran the license plate of a vehicle that was similar to the girl’s car before running the actual tag assigned to her vehicle.
Investigators allege Stanton then conducted driver’s license checks and pulled up photographs of the girl and her twin sister five times while he was in the school parking lot.
When a deputy accesses a driver’s license record, Gualtieri said the system requires an official business reason for the query. Stanton allegedly entered a verification code stating that he was “verifying an identity,” despite investigators determining that the searches were not connected to any official law enforcement purpose.
While at the school, Stanton also allegedly searched the girl’s name in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Records Management System and accessed the girl’s mother’s driver’s license information and photograph three times.
Investigators said Stanton used his agency-issued cellphone to take a photograph of the girl’s driver’s license photo displayed on the computer in his patrol vehicle.
Approximately three hours after leaving the school, Stanton allegedly accessed and viewed the girl’s driver’s license photograph again.
On August 20, Stanton responded to a fatal motorcycle crash in Seminole and took a photograph of the deceased victim, according to Gualtieri.
Five days later, on August 25, Stanton allegedly returned to the restaurant and again accessed the girl’s driver’s license profile and photograph from his patrol vehicle before going inside.
Gualtieri said Stanton used his cellphone to photograph the girl’s driver’s license profile and then entered the restaurant.
While inside, Stanton inadvertently recorded approximately 17 minutes of audio during a conversation with the 17-year-old.
During that conversation, Stanton allegedly asked the girl if she wanted to see the photograph he had taken of the deceased victim from the fatal motorcycle crash in Seminole. The girl declined.
Gualtieri said the recording also captured Stanton acknowledging that he knew the girl was a minor and was 17 years old.
During the same conversation, Stanton allegedly told the girl that he had received an automated license plate reader, or ALPR, hit on her vehicle that alerted him her driver’s license was suspended because of truancy.
Gualtieri said that was false.
Investigators determined Stanton had never received an ALPR hit on the vehicle and that such an alert would not have indicated the girl’s license status because the vehicle was registered to her mother.
According to Gualtieri, Stanton knew about the suspension because he had accessed the girl’s personal information through the law enforcement databases.
Stanton allegedly returned to the restaurant again on September 4, September 11, and September 17.
Gualtieri said Stanton typically remained at the restaurant for approximately 20 minutes during his visits.
The girl described Stanton as “a little flirty.”
Investigators also spoke with one of the girl’s coworkers, who said Stanton would ask for her when he entered the restaurant even though the girl was intentionally attempting to avoid him by hiding in the back room.
On one occasion, Stanton was reportedly standing at the counter while speaking with another deputy by phone. According to Gualtieri, the other deputy asked Stanton why he was at the restaurant and Stanton laughed and replied, “You know why.”
Investigators determined Stanton discussed the girl with at least two other deputies and repeatedly referred to her as his “queen.”
One deputy told investigators Stanton appeared to be interested in the girl as more than a friend and described his interest as romantic, according to Gualtieri.
When supervisors questioned Stanton about accessing the girl’s information, he reportedly said “curiosity got the better of him.”
Gualtieri said Stanton admitted he did not have an official reason to access information involving the girl, her twin sister or her mother.
Stanton was placed on unpaid administrative leave while the investigation continued.
On September 25, 2026, Stanton resigned from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, effective immediately.
Stanton was arrested Wednesday and charged with two felonies: unlawful access to a computer network in violation of Florida Statute 815.06 and official misconduct in violation of Florida Statute 838.022.
His bond was set at $10,000.
Karl Gwynne Accused of Conducting Hundreds of Searches on Woman
The second investigation involved former Deputy Karl Gwynne, 57. The Agency hired Gwynne in January 2005.
Gualtieri said the investigation began after a media inquiry brought attention to an unusually high number of searches involving a single license plate in the Sheriff’s Office ALPR system.
The license plate was registered to a 35-year-old woman.
An audit showed Gwynne queried the ALPR system about the vehicle about 300 times.
Investigators determined Gwynne had previously arrested the woman in 2010.
Supervisors questioned Gwynne on September 11 about why he had conducted so many searches involving the same license plate.
According to Gualtieri, Gwynne initially tried to explain that the searches were for official reasons but later admitted he wanted a relationship with the woman and that she had rejected his advances.
Gwynne resigned from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office that same day.
Further investigation determined Gwynne allegedly conducted 381 searches involving the woman across five law enforcement databases between January 2025 and July 2026.
According to Gualtieri, Gwynne searched the woman 32 times in the state driver’s license database, twice through FCIC, 18 times through a statewide law enforcement records management system, 29 times through the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Records Management System and 300 times through the ALPR system.
Of the 381 searches, investigators determined that 207 were conducted while Gwynne was off duty.
Gualtieri said the woman was not under investigation during that period and investigators found no legitimate law enforcement reason for the searches.
Investigators later spoke with the woman and her mother.
Gualtieri said Gwynne apparently reestablished contact with the woman around 2024 through social media. Investigators were not aware of any contact between Gwynne and the woman between her 2010 arrest and the renewed contact in 2024.
At one point in 2025, Gwynne allowed the woman and her mother to stay at a condominium he owned in Indian Rocks Beach.
Gwynne reportedly told the woman’s mother that he wanted to date her daughter.
According to Gualtieri, the 35-year-old woman repeatedly rejected Gwynne’s romantic advances and told him they were only friends, despite Gwynne purchasing jewelry and other gifts for her.
Investigators concluded Gwynne’s database searches stemmed from his personal interest in the woman and were not connected to legitimate law enforcement business.
Gwynne was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
He was charged with four counts of unlawfully accessing a computer system and one count of official misconduct.
His bond was set at $25,000.
Gualtieri emphasized that personnel with access to law enforcement databases undergo annual training and testing on system security and appropriate use, and are aware that the systems are restricted to official purposes.
No booking photos are available at this time. They will be added when available.
