TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – Lt. Col. Jay Collins is back from a trip to California to hand over illegal immigrants accused of killing three people in a crash crash in Florida. However, critics have questioned the legality of this mission and whether Collins has the right to put his hands on detainees.
Collins joined law enforcement, returning Haljinder Singh to the state, facing a three-count vehicle murder.
“Maybe he wanted Scott to walk freely, but our governor, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and State Attorney Tom Buckedal had other things in mind,” said St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Richard Del Toro.
And when the governor’s administration promotes the search as a success, others are concerned about why the lieutenant governor joined the mission in the first place.
“If we, as conservative Republicans, really bother to seek justice from the three Florida families whose lives were killed in this car accident, why is Jay Collins hampering that process?” state Senator Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola).
Andrade posted to X questioning why Collins was able to put their hands on detainees.
“If the prosecutor wants to prevent him from being forced to bail, and wants to prevent him from being released from prison until he holds trials of any kind, Jay Collins has just handed him a full argument to allow him to be released from prison,” Andredo said.
8 Your side took these questions to criminal defense attorney Bryant R. Camareno to examine the legality of the argument. Camareno says he sees this as similar to a citizen’s arrest.
“From what I understand, he went to California as a member of Florida State, Florida, to help transport this wanted person,” Camareno said. “I don’t see anything illegal about it. It’s all optics. Yes, he put his hands on him. Yes, did he treat him, beat him, worked on him?
As for Collins, he says he took part in the trip to ensure justice was offered.
“Leadership stands on the ground and says things difficult. This is not the lawn in our home. I answer questions in California. I believe in protecting the citizens that much, so I believe in important leadership. This is not performance. What is this leadership supposed to be,” Collins said.
Camareno adds that Collins doesn’t need to go to California to support law enforcement on this outing, and while some consider it pure politics, he has not seen anything illegal about the lieutenant governor’s actions.
