Orlando correctional officer arrested for fraudulent use of handicapped parking permit

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida Department of Corrections officer was arrested Thursday for fraudulently using a vehicle disability sticker at a grocery store, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.

A sheriff’s officer was patrolling the Publix parking lot when he spotted a vehicle parked in a handicapped parking space in front of the store.

Juania Lilly, 51, told the officer that the plate belonged to her mother, but when the officer checked the plate number, a person was found who was not Lilly’s mother. The plate had expired and the date had been changed. According to the sheriff’s office, the owner lost her handicapped parking permit in April 2023.

Lilly told officers she got the plate from the owner, who left it in her car since she works part-time as a Lyft driver. Officers said she works primarily at Polk Correctional Institute, the state prison.

Lilly subsequently denied that she had claimed the sign belonged to her mother, the sheriff’s office said.

“It is very disappointing when an officer not only refuses to cooperate with a police investigation, but blatantly lies,” said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd. “She also committed a crime when she decided to alter and use another person’s disability card. Now she will be held accountable for her crimes.”

Lilly was arrested and charged with unauthorized display of a handicapped parking permit, unauthorized alteration of a motor vehicle registration, failure to surrender lost property, and giving false information to a police officer in the course of an investigation.

The sheriff’s office said the Florida Department of Corrections had been notified of her arrest.