Tighter security for governor after gate crash

TALLAHASSEE - Security at the governor's mansion will be tightened after police said two men crashed a stolen Ford Mustang through the gates at 60 mph Wednesday night.

"They zoomed through the north gate and went right through the south gate," said Gov. Jeb Bush, who was on his way home from the Tallahassee airport at the time. "I guess they were somewhat surprised that the gated community they zoomed through was the governor's mansion."

The men had been drinking and were unaware they had crashed through the grounds of the governor's mansion, police said. The governor's wife, Columba, was inside watching a movie on TV and didn't hear the crash, Bush said.

The men were arrested minutes later by police investigating a report of a car stolen from a nearby KFC. It was only later that police realized the stolen car was the same one used in the mansion gate-crashing.

"I could never envision a car - a Ford Mustang - going through two gates like that," Bush said.

At about the time of the crash, Tallahassee city commissioners were approving a proposal by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to close two streets to enhance mansion security.

Barriers will be erected outside the gates. The two-block area would remain open to pedestrians.

Bush said he hopes the incident won't affect public access to the mansion, which is periodically open for tours. "It's the people's mansion," Bush said.

FDLE director Guy Tunnell said the agency, which provides security for the governor and his family, will review procedures and equipment.

The governor's mansion was built in 1957 about seven blocks north of the State Capitol, where an earlier mansion was built in 1906. Completed when LeRoy Collins was governor, it occupies most of a city block and is surrounded by an iron security fence installed in 1975 after the Secret Service vetoed an overnight stay by Vice President Spiro Agnew.

The house provides private quarters for the governor and his family and public rooms for ceremonies. The grounds include a swimming pool, four-car garage and an apartment added when Farris Bryant was governor in the early 1960s.

Video cameras allow FDLE agents to monitor activities near the mansion.

Richard Banks, a KFC customer, reported his car missing when he left the restaurant about 7 p.m. While waiting outside the restaurant for police to arrive, Banks saw his car drive by at a high rate of speed. Police quickly located the car near Interstate 10. They arrested Steven F. Baker, 24, and Floyd J. Boyd, 19, described as transients, on charges of auto theft.

Police returned the Mustang to Banks before anyone realized it might be connected with the gate crashing at the mansion. Investigators later matched paint found on the damaged gates to the stolen car and charged the two men with criminal mischief and trespassing.

Investigators said no vehicle before has attempted to crash the mansion gates.

- Information from the Florida Handbook was used in this report. Researcher Kitty Bennett and staff writer Alisa Ulferts contributed.

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