PANAMA CITY — Attorneys on both sides of a case against a former Springfield mayor charged with a felony for allegedly violating a stop-work order from the state of Florida said during a hearing Thursday they expect the case to be resolved without a trial.
The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Fraud Division arrested 62-year-old Robert Walker last October on a count of workers’ compensation fraud for the alleged violation.
Walker, who was Springfield’s mayor for 17 years until challenger Ralph Hammond defeated him in 2013, is accused of allowing an employee of his construction company, La Rew Enterprises Inc., to work without workers’ compensation insurance coverage, according to charging documents.
Investigators issued a stop-work order on Nov. 6, 2012. They found the uninsured worker at a job site eight days later. They said they were protecting the building’s unfinished roof from a coming storm, and they had cleared it with Walker’s attorney.
Investigators disagreed and charged him with a third-degree felony.
Steve Meadows, Walker’s attorney, said in court Thursday he and prosecutor Christine Smallwood have been negotiating to resolve the case, but the defense is ready to go to trial if they can’t come to an agreement.
“This case should resolve, but if not we’re ready to move forward toward trial,” Meadows told Judge Elijah Smiley.
Walker has filed a waiver of appearance and was not in court Thursday. Smiley set his next court date for March 27.