Overview
- Panicci, arrested Saturday, was taken into custody after deputies recovered the encrypted key and multiple electronic storage devices during a search of his Lake Worth–area home.
- Detectives say the device was taken March 19 during a volunteer training session at the Supervisor of Elections office at 4301 Cherry Road, and the office’s report on March 27 opened the investigation.
- Elections officials say the key connected only to training databases, the March 24 special election proceeded without new protocols, and the voter check‑in system is separate from vote totals.
- Booking records show a felony count for offenses against computer systems and a misdemeanor petit theft charge, and a judge ordered no contact with the elections office and set $6,000 bail after a Sunday first appearance.
- Supervisor Wendy Sartory Link says poll‑worker screening looks only at the past 10 years of criminal history, FDLE checks did not surface older offenses tied to Panicci, and the investigation into intent and any technical risk continues.