TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Criminal courts across Florida’s 2nd Judicial Circuit remained largely shut down after an underground utility explosion in downtown Tallahassee damaged phone and computer systems, officials said.
The courthouse building opened normally Wednesday, but State Attorney Jack Campbell said all criminal courts would continue to be closed “Wednesday, October 7,” with the only exception being first appearance hearings, which “will be handled in the manner of the weekend or holiday.”
Campbell said other non-criminal court proceedings may continue “at the discretion of the judge.” He urged people with criminal cases to contact their lawyers. For those who do not have an attorney, Campbell asked them to “please give the clerk several days for the system to be restored,” after which they can be given their next court date.
“Our phone systems and computer infrastructure continue to be compromised throughout the circuit,” Campbell said, adding that decisions about the rest of the week would be made as more information becomes available and progress is made.
Campbell said the Office of the State Attorney, the Public Defender’s Office and the Leon County Clerk of Court are closed to the public. He also thanked City of Tallahassee, Leon County and state of Florida personnel “who have worked so hard on this bizarre situation.”
Leon County officials said the Augustus D. Aikens, Jr. Leon County Courthouse at 301 S. Monroe St. and the Leon County Annex at 315 S. Calhoun St. would reopen to the public “Wednesday, Oct. 7,” following the underground electrical fire near the courthouse early Tuesday morning.
“The reopening of the Leon County Courthouse and Annex is an important step toward returning our community to normal operations,” Leon County Commission Chairman Christian Caban said. “County teams will be working overnight to restore full network connectivity, and we will keep the public informed as that work continues. We are grateful to the first responders and emergency personnel who have worked throughout this incident to protect the public and restore essential services.”
County officials said the fire damaged county infrastructure, including the county’s fiber-optic network, and some services remained affected. County staff were working with City of Tallahassee Utilities to restore the network connection.
“Our priority tonight is restoring full network connectivity, and our technology teams will be working through the night with City of Tallahassee Utilities to reroute the damaged connection,” Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long said. “The Courthouse and Annex will be open, though some services may be limited until the network is fully restored. We appreciate the public’s patience and will share updates as service comes back online.”
Leon County said both buildings had full power and that a structural engineer reviewed the courthouse and found no concerns. Some services at the courthouse and annex may be limited until the county’s network connection is fully restored.
Officials said voice calls to 911 continued to work normally, but text-to-911 remained offline. Anyone with an emergency should call 911. Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who have a speech disability, can reach 911 by TTY.
For non-emergency calls, officials said people should contact the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-891-4200. The Tallahassee-Leon County Consolidated Dispatch Agency also reported a temporary disruption affecting its non-emergency phone lines and directed people with non-emergency matters to call 850-891-4200. Anyone experiencing an emergency, or unsure whether a situation is an emergency, should call 911, the agency said.
Leon County Sheriff’s office
Leon County said some county phones with numbers beginning with 606 would continue to have intermittent service. All library locations were open but without internet or phone service; residents can check out materials and use all library services except public internet access and printing.
LeonCountyFL.gov remained unavailable, officials said, adding that county information and services could be found at cms.LeonCountyFL.gov.
Leon County officials said some Leon County Sheriff’s Office phone lines with numbers beginning with 606 continued to have intermittent service. In-person visitation at the Leon County Detention Facility remained suspended, while virtual visitation remained available. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil also suspended visitation at the detention facility until further notice. For updates from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, officials directed the public to Facebook.com/LeonFLSO.