A persistent panhandler was detained at a church in The Villages.
Donyell Annata Brown, 43, a homeless person, was causing a disturbance at St. Timothy Catholic Church around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, according to a Lady Lake Police Department arrest record. She’d been panhandling.
Church staff had warned Brown not to disturb the parishioners, but he still returned to the church.
Multiple police calls to the church have resulted from Brown’s continuous panhandling. She had received an official trespass warning and was instructed not to return to church grounds.
When police arrived for the final time, a maintenance staff reported that she was seated inside the chapel.
The Illinois native was arrested for trespassing and put into the Lake County Jail. She appeared in Lake County Court the next day and pleaded not guilty to the trespassing allegation. She was sentenced to time served and fined. The judge instructed her not to return to the church.