State Attorney labors to make Plant City safer.
State Attorney Susan “Suzy” Lopez is the first female elected state attorney in Hillsborough County history. First appointed by Governor DeSantis in August 2022, she won reelection in November 2024. She leads a team of 300, including prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates, and support staff. Lopez and the agency are responsible for handling the 50,000 yearly criminal prosecutions in the 13th Judicial Circuit.
State Attorney Lopez came to town on August 7 and took time out of her schedule to be cross-examined by the “Plant City Observer.”
What is your history with Plant City?
“My dad’s first cousin was the pastor at the Methodist Church out here when I was a child, and we were Festival people. We took any opportunity to get to Plant City. The Branch Ranch was one of my dad’s favorite restaurants. I spent a lot of time here. Even in the 20-plus years I have been a prosecutor, just watching it grow out here has been amazing. It is the best kept secret in our office. The lawyers love being assigned here.”
Why are they happy about being here?
“It’s Plant City. Everybody loves Plant City. It’s a different pace of life. Everybody knows everybody. The courthouse is gorgeous.”
What is the biggest public safety priority for Plant City?
“It is pretty much the same as it is for the county, and that is keeping our youth out of trouble. Guns are always a concern. You’ve heard me for the last three years talk about kids and guns. That is always a concern. There is a case that was picked up by the federal government with a 15-year-old who is charged with killing someone earlier this year. So it’s keeping our kids safe and keeping guns out of the hands of people who are not allowed to have them. That is a priority for me in the county, as well as in Plant City.”
What do you do to help solve that problem?
“We work hand-in-hand with law enforcement. I just spent an hour and a half with the chief and deputy chiefs of the Plant City Police Department, asking them what we can do for them, and in turn, they asked what they can do for us. Keeping those lines of communication open is really important because when law enforcement, the state attorney’s office, and the community work together, crime goes down. We have a gun violence unit, a division that is dedicated to the prosecution of gun crimes. It is really designed to focus on people who are frequent trigger pullers, as opposed to a one-off gun crime like road-rage gunfire. That can be prosecuted by a regular division. But it is good to have divisions that have specialties. That is important to us, and we are seeing good results. The gun violence unit has been going now for over a year. It helps to have our prosecutors be in direct contact with the units at our law enforcement agencies, who know they can pick up the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Again, that is where communication, working together, and collaboration are so important in crime prevention, and in the apprehension of people who cause harm to the community. We have several specialty divisions. We have economic crimes, major crimes, special victims unit, and problem-solving courts, as well.”
What is most of the crime that comes into your office from Plant City?
“Typical misdemeanor property crimes, trespassing, for example. Plant City has expanded so much, and the population of the county has expanded. Here is my fun fact. Before the pandemic, Hillsborough County was about 1.1 million people. Right now, we are at 1.6 million. The great thing is, though our population has increased so significantly, overall crime is down. It is down in the City of Tampa, it is down in the City of Plant City, it is down in Hillsborough County. We have seen a steady decline in the last three years. It’s because of that collaboration and working together. If I call Chief Mills at 2:00 in the morning, I know he is going to answer the phone, and vice-versa. That is what makes our community safer, working together.
What is an example of how collaboration between your offices helps?
If there is somebody, for example, who is a frequent trigger puller, that would be a case in our gun violence unit, we communicate to the police, ‘What’s this person up to?’ Is he out on bond? Let’s keep a special eye on this person.’ But it also goes both ways. We have meetings once a month with the sheriff’s office, TPD, and now we do with Plant City. If they have someone on their radar, say a juvenile, 17 years old, we could say. ‘We know what this person is up to. Could you give this person a curfew or an ankle monitor?’ We have the leaders of our office sit in these meetings, and so we’re able to learn about those defendants and help fashion something that will be better for the public.
What changes have you made since you came into office, and what have you seen those accomplish?
“I try to be a very boots-on-the-ground leader. So, I get into the court rooms every day that I can to assess the needs of our attorneys; what do they need to successfully prosecute this case because our mission is public safety? I am very hands on. In the last three years, we have really given a voice to victims and their families. We see what their needs are, and we have some exciting things coming to our victim’s assistance program. We have expanded our gun violence unit. We are fully staffed. We have 15 percent more attorneys than we did three years ago. Also, it is working hand-in-hand with law enforcement. When I came into office, I knew that the relationships with our law enforcement partners were not good, but I didn’t realize how bad they were. So, that is something that is very important to me, to repair and maintain those relationships.”
Why is it important for you to come to Plant City?
“I love coming out here because I don’t often get the opportunity to see staff who are the heart and soul of the office in Plant City. I wish I could get out here more. But I also know we are such a well-oiled machine out here; our lawyers and our support staff are great.”
How many staff are located here?
“Two attorneys and two support staff.”
What kind of cases do they handle?
“Misdemeanors and traffic.”
Lopez’s strawberry roots run deep. When she visits the Strawberry Festival she wears strawberry outfits, including earrings. “You have to dress the right part,” she commented. “I am kind of bummed right now that Parkesdale is still closed, because I would have gotten a frozen shake to take home.” It is good to know the State Attorney has a connection to Plant City and wants to make it a safer place.
