PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The City of Port Richey’s code enforcement officer has been a constable, a police officer, a corrections officer, a firefighter, and a paramedic before taking his current job in October 2022.
He is now facing multiple felony charges including possession of child pornography, video voyeurism, and sexual contact with animals.
The ABC Action News I-Team has uncovered that he worked and volunteered in the public services field for decades.
Port Richey’s code enforcement officer’s truck is parked at city hall while the man assigned to it for the past 13 months, 56-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Singleton, is behind bars at the Pasco County Jail.
Singleton’s neighbor Don Reed saw detectives search his house on Wednesday.
“They were here all day carrying stuff out of the house,” Reed said.
Editor's Note: This story contains details that readers may find disturbing.
Report describes child porn, animal porn, and a hidden camera
According to police reports, Google reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a Gmail account associated with Singleton was used to upload pornographic images.
A search warrant was obtained for his account, which contained 33 files of child pornography and 21 files containing sexual activities with people and animals.
Reports say when Pasco detectives searched his home, they found a hidden camera he allegedly used to shoot videos of his girlfriend’s juvenile daughter undressing and then posted them online.
They also found images of Singleton engaging in sex acts with two dogs investigators identified at the home.
“That’s unreal,” Reed said. “Just Wow!”
When we went to Singleton’s home, dogs were barking, but nobody answered.
Port Richey’s new City Manager Matthew Coppler, who just started last week, declined an on-camera interview.
He said the incidents were unfortunate, but he stressed that they involved his personal life and not his job. Coppler said the city is working through its personnel process, which he hopes will be resolved in the near future.
Residents describe aggressive enforcement
During Singleton’s tenure, the number of code violation cases grew from 17 during his first month on the job in November 2022, to 112 cases in July.
“He was on top of me pretty hard,” said Tait Lundquist, who owns a marina and other businesses in Port Richey.
Lundquist said Singleton began aggressively citing him shortly after taking the job, citing him for five code violation cases.
Eric Sabbides, who keeps his boat at Lunquist’s marina, said he observed the interaction.
“Screaming and yelling. Top of his lungs,” Sabbides said. “I’ll see you in court. I’m gonna see you in court!”
One case involved a new sign on a former welding business Lundquist bought. Another involved a “Barbie’s Playhouse” sign he put on a temporary rental home.
“You could ask him a simple question and he would just scream top of his lungs. ‘I’ll see you in court. Can’t you read?’ Belittling me. And that prompted me to start digging into who he was, his credentials,” Lundquist said.
Singleton’s work history included public service jobs
Through records requests, Lunquist obtained Singleton’s resume showing he previously worked in New York state as a constable, a code enforcement officer, corrections officer, and campus police officer at Canisius University in Buffalo.
Singleton only worked at the university for five months, from October 2019 until March 2020. A Canisius Univesity spokesperson would not say why he left.
Singleton also worked as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic.
Port Richey city records show Singleton failed his Florida Fundamentals of Code Enforcement certification exam three times. When the city posted the position, the posting indicated a candidate “must be able to qualify for State Certification within one year of hire date”.
The pay rate for the position was listed between $18.03 and $20.09 per hour.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case, saying it was still an open investigation.
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