The Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office in Florida has had a thorn in its side for the past 14 years – Pastor Walter Jenkins, a man who may or not own two properties in the county.
One property is a “church,” though it is a vacant lot. Located adjacent is another property, which has become the subject of a recent lawsuit. It’s a wooden house Jenkins claims a homestead exemption for, though the property appraiser’s office insists Jenkins doesn’t live there.
“I just know we’ve been dealing with this issue for a long, long time,” County Property Appraiser Ed Crapo told The Gainesville Sun. “It just won’t go away.”
Recently, Jenkins filed a lawsuit against Crapo and two others after receiving two letters in 2012; one notified Jenkins of a conducted field visit, the other letter stated their intent to request back taxes from 2002-11 because of a homestead disqualification. It remains unclear how much Jenkins owes in back taxes, according to county officials.
Crapo said he knows Jenkins doesn’t live at the home because utility records indicate no power has been used for several years. Moreover, his office’s employees have talked to neighbors and driven by the property several times on different days of the week.
“He claims that’s his homestead; we think he lives down with his mother,” Crapo said.
The mailing address Jenkins lists on several court documents is in Anna Maria, roughly three hours south. Jenkins states in the complaint he travels back and forth to care for his sick 93-year-old mother — and has for many years.