A prominent donor and ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was found dead in a parking lot in North Florida last week.
Jacksonville defense contractor Kent Stermon died of an apparent suicide outside of the Mayport post office on Thursday. Sermon owned the company Total Military Management and had donated more than $60,000 to DeSantis election funds.
Stermon's connections to DeSantis go well beyond political donations. When DeSantis was pushed out of his Jacksonville district by redistricting in 2016, he moved into a Stermon-owned condo that was within the boundaries of the new district to run for office. Stermon was appointed to the Board of Governors overseeing state universities by DeSantis.
The 50-year-old contractor was reportedly under investigation for sexual misconduct, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office sources that spoke to the Florida Times-Union.
“This investigation remains ongoing at this time and will continue until its completion. As with all active investigations, there is limited information available to release at this time,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters told the paper. “However, as soon as this investigation has been completed, all applicable information will be available for release to the public.”
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