JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The video attached to this story is from a previous, related report.
A missing persons report sheds new light on the sudden and shocking death of GOP mega donor Kent Stermon.
Stermon, a close ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis and a businessman with enormous political clout, died by suicide last week. As First Coast News has reported, multiple law enforcement sources confirm Stermon was the target of a criminal investigation involving allegations of sexual misconduct at the time of his death. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed he was under investigation, but has not said what the investigation involved.
READ MORE: Stermon under investigation before his death
According to a new report obtained by First Coast News, Stermon’s wife reported him missing Thursday after she was notified by Mayo Clinic that his heart monitor had stopped. The report says Stermon was discharged earlier in the day after suffering a stroke on Dec. 5. He is listed as “suicidal/despondent” in the report, which says Stermon told his mother-in-law days earlier that “everyone would be better off without" him.
The report says Stermon's wife asked if he wanted to join her on a trip to the pet store, but he responded, “I’ll rest.” However, eight minutes later, the report says Stermon texted his daughter that he was going to get gas.
The report appears in part based on surveillance video; which evidence was garnered from the video is redacted. It says Stermon “was holding a possible firearm in his hand” when he left but “the victim owns multiple firearms, and it is not uncommon for the victim to leave his residence without [sic] his firearm.”
The report says police attempted to ping his phone, but "the victim’s phone is turned off and the ping yielded negative results.” Police issued a BOLO for Stermon. He was found dead shortly after 8 p.m. at the Mayport Road post office in Atlantic Beach.
Stermon, 50, was the president of Total Military Management and a GOP kingmaker, the conduit between Jacksonville politics and Tallahassee. First Coast News learned he owned a JSO access badge, allowing him to freely enter police headquarters, area substations and even – on several occasions – Montgomery Correctional Center, aka the prison farm, located on the city’s Westside.
JSO said Stermon obtained the access card "prior to the current administration coming in. The decision was made following the election [of Sheriff T.K. Waters] to remove his access privileges and he had been informed of this."
Records obtained by First Coast News show hundreds of badge swipes between 2017 and Stermon's final visit to JSO on Nov. 15. JSO has not yet responded to questions about why Stermon was granted the special access and who else, if anyone, has similar privileges.
Florida Politics reporter A.G. Gancarski has covered state politics for more than 20 years and knew Stermon.
"Kent was very influential," he said. "You wouldn't have Ron DeSantis as governor without Kent Stermon. You wouldn't have the Lenny Curry machine working quite the way it does without Kent. He was big with everything in the local party and the state party."