Prosecutors drop lockdown violation charges against Pinellas Park game shop owner

Prosecutors have dropped the charges against a Pinellas Park business owner accused of violating state and local stay-at-home orders.

The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office dropped the case on Friday because business owner Galen Trent Wood, 36, has complied with the emergency orders since his April 16 arrest, said Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett.

“The whole idea is to get people to comply,” Bartlett said. “Once they get it into compliance, everything’s okay. But sometimes people don’t take the easiest path.”

Wood owns Kitchen Table Games at 9600 66th St. N, which sells cards and games such as Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball Super Card Games. The shop was open only for shipping and curbside pickup, but the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said deputies saw customers walk up to the storefront and have contact with employees.

The business owner was arrested on two misdemeanor charges. One count stems from a state emergency order, which made it illegal to leave home for a non-essential service, said Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri at the time of Wood’s arrest. Gov. Ron DeSantis has since rolled out a plan to reopen the state that began Monday.

The second count stemmed from a Pinellas County emergency order, requiring the closure of any retail establishment not deemed essential by the state.

Wood said Monday he felt “vindicated" by the state attorney’s decision to drop the charges. He reopened his shop Monday on a limited basis, joining a wave of businesses reopening their doors amid the loosened restrictions.

“It’s a victory for me and all the small businesses ... being harassed and intimidated by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office," he said of the state attorney’s decision.

Wood has maintained that he was operating legally, pointing to directions from DeSantis’ office that encouraged business owners to provide pickup and delivery to customers. But the local order required that all non-essential retail establishments close, the sheriff said.

On Monday, Gualtieri said he stands by his arrest but agreed with Bartlett that the case no longer needed to be pursued in court.

“Sometimes, especially in these situations, the arrest takes care of the problem, and that’s as far as it needs to go," the sheriff said.

Wood gained a powerful ally last week when state State Rep. Anthony Sabatini signed on to represent him, joining Pinellas Park attorney Gordon Oldham.

Sabatini, a Republican from Lake County, has railed against state and local lockdown orders on social media, saying they’re examples of government overreach with no legal basis. Sabatini said Monday he plans to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of stay-at-home orders.

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