After reviewing more than 100 candidates, the City of Boca Raton has announced its two finalists for the position of police chief.
Seth Dubinsky has served as acting chief since the resignation of Interim Chief Elizabeth Roberts in late April. Roberts took over after Michele Miuccio was fired in March. Dubinsky will be succeeded by either Nicholas Augustine from Montgomery County, Md., or Jarad Phelps from Jacksonville, N.C.
Augustine served as assistant chief of police for the Montgomery County Department of Police’s Investigative Services Bureau from November 2022 until February 2025, when he took over as chief of the Management Services Bureau. He holds master’s degrees in public safety and criminal justice, and he oversaw more than 400 sworn officers and staff during his tenure as assistant chief. Outside of the department, Augustine served as a commissioner on both the Maryland Commission on LGBTQ Affairs and the Frederick County Parks & Recreation Commission.
Phelps has served as chief of police in Jacksonville, N.C., for two years. Prior to taking over as chief, he worked for the Prince William, Va. police department, where he was a deputy chief for four years, acting chief for almost a year, and assistant chief of police operations for almost 24 years. The Jacksonville police department has 136 sworn officers and 51 support staff, according to the department’s Facebook page. Like Dubinsky, Phelps holds a master’s degree in public administration.
Per a press release from the City, “the City focused on candidates with demonstrated experience in operational leadership, accountability, organizational culture, public trust, effective communication, and community-focused policing.”
The next step for the candidates is spending time in Boca Raton, meeting with city and police officials, and learning more about the department and city operations. A selection will be made after this process.
Separating fact from fiction with Boca’s proposed police station
The Boca Raton City Council has directed staff to move forward with a $125 million budget for a new police station. That number could change during the course of a months-long community outreach process. Whatever the final amount, it will be up to voters to approve a bond measure during the March 2027 election. The price tag is $65 million less than the bond item that voters rejected in March. With that drop in price comes some compromises.
The former proposed station’s price was as high as it was because it wasn’t just accounting for the City’s needs now—it was intended to evolve with the City’s needs over decades. It would have been 160,000 square feet to account for space needs as the department grew. The current proposed station is 94,000 square feet; again, a number that can change between now and the ballot measure. It is intended to address the police department’s current needs—modernizing technology and increasing space.
The chief criticisms of the new station are its cost and its timeline. City Councilmember and Save Boca Founder and Chairman Jonathan Pearlman has argued that—despite the price reduction—the station is still too expensive. Save Boca emails have compared the price tag with that of police departments in smaller cities, singling out Bradenton with a population of 60,000 and $35 million facility, and Hollywood with a population of 159,000 and $84 million facility.
The comparisons, though, are apples to oranges. Bradenton’s space needs differ greatly from Boca’s, which has roughly 100 more staff members. Bradenton’s facility is also smaller at 50,000 square feet than the proposed Boca station at 94,000 square feet.
As for Hollywood, the city ground broke on its new station in September 2024, before tariffs enacted by the Trump Administration hiked costs for construction and materials. Inflation at the time was also lower. Both Bradenton and Hollywood also have different operational needs than Boca.
The timeline has also drawn scrutiny by Save Boca and Pearlman. The previous station—which was opposed by Save Boca—would have been completed in late 2028 after two years of construction. The current proposed station won’t be completed until 2030 or 2031, depending on the location—another point of contention.
Save Boca and Pearlman have repeatedly claimed that the proposed Terra/Frisbie deal would have displaced the police station, which has been debunked again and again. It was an operational decision by the police to move to a more central location—the corner of Spanish River Boulevard and Broken Sound Boulevard.
Keeping the headquarters downtown would mean that officers and staff would need to find a temporary workspace while the facility is under construction. The proposed central location also has more land, which can be used for expansion. It’s cheaper to build out than to build up, as would be necessary with the smaller downtown land parcel.
City staff presented two options for consideration—the central location which would be completed in 2030, or the downtown location which would be completed in 2031. Where it ends up will be determined through community feedback over the coming months.
Pearlman claims that the project will take too long, and the longer it takes, the more expensive it will get, and he could be right. But work can’t begin until the bonds are approved by voters in March. He has also criticized the community outreach phase of the plan, arguing that it’s unnecessary—a view shared by no one else on the council.
The elephant in the room
If voters approve the $125 million bond item in March, the bonds will be financed through an increase in the City’s property tax. The Florida Legislature this week approved a ballot measure that—if approved by 60 percent of voters in November—will expand the homestead exemption and result in lower revenues for cities from property taxes.
Current estimates put the loss in revenue for Boca Raton in 2027 at nearly $13 million. That includes the current homestead exemption ($4.8 million) and the $150,000 homestead exemption ($8.1 million) that would go into effect in 2027. The expansion of the homestead exemption in 2028 to $250,000 will result in an additional $16.7 in lost revenue for the City.
For the police station, an expansion of the homestead exemption means a reduction in the pool of funds from property taxes that the City can use to finance the bond. More exemptions for homesteads means owners of non-homestead properties will pay more for the bond.
Boca Raton CFO James Zervis will share a presentation during Tuesday’s workshop meeting on how the proposal would affect the city as well as its options for covering the revenue deficit.
Saint Andrew’s School teacher arrested for possession of CSAM
A Saint Andrew’s School teacher has been charged with possessing and sending child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Patrick Russell was investigated by the FBI after the bureau discovered materials sent by Russell to a subject they arrested in Cincinnati, Ohio. Russell was arrested last Thursday and charged in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Friday. Per a report by the Miami Herald, Russell was a participant in group chats dedicated to sharing CSAM.
Russell was immediately terminated by St. Andrew’s and, per a statement from the school, is “not permitted to return to campus, access any school equipment or property, attend any school events, or interact with any students or employees.”
The statement continues, “Our greatest responsibility is and always will be the safety, security, and well-being of all of our students, particularly those who rely on us to teach, nurture, and inspire their educational pursuits. Anything that compromises our ability to deliver on these aims will not be tolerated, and we will always act quickly and in the best interests of our community.”
Self defense motion denied for alleged Boca double murderer
De’Vante Lashawn Moss, the Boynton Beach man arrested as a suspect in a double murder in Boca Raton in 2024, had his motion to dismiss his case based on Stand Your Ground law denied.
Moss allegedly killed two people after stealing a woman’s purse at a local extended stay hotel. The woman followed Moss from the room, and two bystanders attempted to intervene. Moss then shot all three, killing the woman and one of the bystanders.
In March, Moss filed the motion to dismiss. The court denied the motion on May 28, with Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer noting, “The ‘Stand Your Ground’ statute is void of any language allowing a robber/convicted felon to arm himself and shoot people during the course of a robbery even if he considers such actions to be justifiable self-defense.”
Suspect in downtown Boca shooting arrested
Boca Raton police have arrested a suspect in connection with a May 25 shooting in front of The Standard Cuisine & Cocktails in Royal Palm Place.
Christian Ippolito is being charged with two counts of Second-Degree Attempted Murder after he allegedly shot two people following an altercation in front of the restaurant. Ippolito allegedly shot the person with whom he was having a dispute in the chest, then another shot hit a patron inside the restaurant in the leg. Both survived.
