Candidate Army Reyes says he was unaware that contributor Stuart Mauney is charged with 2021 murder
By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor
The most recent campaign contribution reports show that Armand “Army” Reyes, who is a candidate for Wakulla sheriff, accepted a small donation from a man facing trial for murder.
Stuart Mauney was supposed to go to trial in April for the December 2021 murder of a man in the Purify Bay Road area, but Mauney’s private attorneys withdrew from the case citing an undisclosed conflict – delaying the trial.
Records show that Mauney made a $50 cash donation to Reyes on June 6. Mauney’s wife made a $50 donation a couple of days later.
Asked about the donations, Reyes said he was not aware of Mauney’s pending murder charges. “He reached out to me, you know, and said he wanted to support me,” Reyes said.
Reyes said he would Google the guy when he got home to confirm what a reporter was telling him. But at the same time, Reyes noted: “He’s not convicted. I’m going to take it at face value. I don’t judge what he’s done or hasn’t done – unless he’s convicted, I’m not a judge.”
Reyes also contrasted his campaign fundraising with incumbent Jared Miller, who is seeking re-election, saying: “I haven’t knocked on doors and asked for money – it’s just people who called and said they wanted to help me out.”
Reyes noted he has raised only about $4,000 from contributors, most of whom are from out-of-state. He criticized Miller for the tens of thousands of dollars he’s raised, saying Miller always refers to Wakulla County as “cash-strapped”
Reyes is a retired police officer from Suffolk County, Long Island, where he was part of a DWI Task Force and training instructor before he was injured by a drunk driver who ran a red light. Reyes had his neck fused and could not return to law enforcement in New York and retired to Florida.
Mauney was charged in February 2022 with the December 2021 murder of a man in the Purify Bay Road area.
Mauney was released on $500,000 bond.
The victim’s family invoked Marsy’s Law, the constitutional amendment intended to protect crime victims, so the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office never released the victim’s name.
The Wakulla Sun searched obituaries from the time of the death and identified the murder victim as Timothy Wayne Blyth, 52, who was killed while scouting a hunting area on refuge lands. He was a U.S. Marine veteran who served two tours overseas and received numerous medals.
According to the arrest report, witnesses reported Mauney in the area with his two standard Poodles and described him as argumentative. He got into an argument as he was walking down the road with his dogs after one person suggested he wear orange because there was a mobility hunt going on. At the kiosk where hunters note their deer harvests, Mauney got into an argument with a man matching Blyth’s description.
The sheriff’s office received a 911 call after a man driving on Purify Bay Road found a body in the road. The victim had been shot multiple times.
Mauney’s poodles were running around the site loose when deputies arrived. Mauney’s wife arrived and collected the dogs. She reportedly told deputies the dogs had escaped from their Jack Crum Road home about a mile away and that her husband had not been at the location.
After developing leads, detectives searched Mauney’s home and found bloodstained boots that matched prints at the scene, as well as bloodstained jeans. The tire tracks of Mauney’s Ford F150 matched tire tracks at the scene.
But a 9mm handgun Mauney reportedly owned was missing from the home.
At the crime scene, officers found four 9mm spent casings and the victim’s phone about 40 yards away from the body. The last photo on the victim’s phone was of Mauney’s F150 showing the tag.
Back in October, Mauney asked the court if his bow and arrows could be returned to him so that he could hunt during bow season. (As a condition of bond, he is not allowed to possess a gun.) Wakulla Circuit Judge Layne Smith denied the request.
