State corrections officer claiming to be part-time Lyft driver arrested for disabled parking placard fraud

HIGHLANDS CITY, Fla. - A trip to Publix led to the arrest of a Florida Department of Corrections officer after deputies said she parked in a handicapped space using a disabled parking placard that did not belong to her and was expired.  

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a sheriff’s service officer was conducting parking enforcement when he saw Juania Lilly’s car in a handicapped parking space in front of a Highlands City Publix on Thursday.

Investigators said Lilly told the officer the disabled placard belonged to her mother. 

The SSO ran the placard number and said it belonged to someone who was not Lilly’s mother. 

Deputies say the placard’s owner said she lost it in April 2023. The SSO also said he noticed that the placard was expired but had been altered to make it look like it was valid.  

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office

A deputy was called in to assist the SSO and said Lilly told him that she got the placard because the original owner left it in her car. She went on to say that she works as a part-time Lyft driver in addition to working at the Polk Correctional Institute. 

The deputy said Lilly denied telling the SSO that the placard belonged to her mother. 

Lilly was arrested and charged with unlawful display of a disabled parking permit, unlawfully altering a motor vehicle registration, failure to deliver lost property, and providing false information to a law enforcement officer. 

"It’s very disappointing when a public servant not only refuses to cooperate with a law enforcement investigation but outright lies," said Sheriff Grady Judd. "She also committed a felony when she decided to alter and use someone else’s handicapped placard. Now she’s going to be held accountable for her crimes."

Staff at the Florida Department of Corrections were notified of the arrest.

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