Sarasota man accused of keeping kids out of school while living in home with bugs, trash, empty beer cans

SARASOTA, Fla. - A Sarasota man is facing felony child neglect charges after police said his three sons were found living in deplorable conditions and not going to school.

The backstory:

In September 2025, Sarasota police officers with the Homeless Outreach Team were on proactive patrol and said they stopped at a home in the 1700 block of 23rd Street because they recognized a man asleep on the front porch.

Police said the man told them he was friends with 48-year-old Tony Mayner, who lived inside.

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Officers said through a window, they saw the home was in disarray and the living conditions raised concerns for the children living inside.

Officers asked if they could check on the children and said Mayner allowed them to enter. Once inside, officers said they found the home filled with empty beer cans, trash and various types of bugs.

"There was an infestation of cockroaches. There was an above-the-ground swimming pool. It was full of trash and debris. There were beer cans all through the house. The house reeked of gasoline," said Officer Nate Lynn. 

According to police, there was an "above-ground" swimming pool in the living room that did not have water in it.

Officers also said they smelled gasoline, the refrigerators did not have any food inside and there was no furniture in the home, except for dirty beds.

Mayner told officers that his children, ages 10, 11, and 14, had not been enrolled in school for two years.

Officer Nate Lynn said Mayner told them he was homeschooling his children by telling them stories and by watching Youtube videos. 

"We got a lot of folks involved. Sarasota Housing Authority, our community relations unit, the local school districts. We informed him that this education is not going to work for your children. We need something more structured," said Officer Lynn. 

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According to SPD, officers worked with community partners for clothing, personal items, shoes and school supplies, as well as a large amount of food, water, sustainable milk and other substantive things to eat.

Officers also worked to have the children re-enrolled into school and worked to get furniture for the home. The Department of Children and Families was also contacted and made a formal report.

"We withheld criminal charges at that point because we were trying to get them connected to services and some education and encouragement with the family and hopefully keep the kids out of the system," said Officer Lynn. 

Dig deeper:

On November 6, police did another welfare check on the three children at the same home because officers received complaints that the children had not been in school.

When officers got to the home, they said Mayner allowed them inside and told them that his three kids were not at school and were asleep inside.

Once inside the home, officers said they saw several cockroaches running across the floors and walls of the home, wood rot in the interior doors and cabinets and a strong odor of mold.

"It was like hitting the restart button. The house was in the same conditions. Dog had no food, we found out the youngest child in the house had been bitten by the dog the night before there was no medical attention given. It was sort of like an all hands on deck at that point," said Officer Lynn. 

Police said there was trash on the floors, a dining room table and countertops in the kitchen. All the bedrooms were dirty with old spills from food debris or trash, according to SPD.

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Police went on to say there were raw patties and barely any edible food inside the fridge or cabinets for the children to have. Officers noted there were more alcoholic beverages for Mayner in the two fridges than edible food for the children. Mayner also told officers that one of his children was bitten by their dog last night and was not taken to receive medical care.

"The food in the refrigerator. There wasn’t even a door. There was rotting meat that was in the fridge and beer, that was the only food and drink options in the fridge," said Officer Lynn. 

Police said they tried several times to help and provide Mayner with cleaning supplies and perishable food.

Mayner was arrested and taken to police headquarters to be interviewed.

During the interview, Mayner reportedly gave DCF agents consent to a drug test.

Police said the drug test was positive and showed Mayner had methamphetamines in his system.

"We gave him numerous opportunities to fix himself. He did not fix himself. So at that point it becomes we are no longer educating and encouraging. We are going to take it - the criminal route and we will take you to jail to make it a point that this behavior is unacceptable, your children deserve a better life and if you can’t do it for them then we will take it on us to do it for you," said Officer Lynn. 

Mayner bonded out of jail the next day.

Police said the children were released to a family member, and they were advised by DCF to return home.

What you can do:

Florida law requires any individual who suspects that a child has been abused by any person to report that to the Florida Abuse Hotline. The abuse hotline is 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873).