Former Brevard Deputy of the Year faces felony child neglect, drug charges

Deputies said they found filth, dog feces, illegal drugs, a wall riddled with bullet holes and a 2-year-old child in the Viera home of a one-time Deputy of the Year Thursday morning.

"What was found inside was absolutely disgusting and deplorable," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a press conference. "The house was in complete disarray. These were conditions no one should have been living in, especially not someone in a profession such as ours or someone that has a small child."

Former Brevard County Sheriff's Nick Worthy, 29, and his girlfriend, Rachel Trexler, 32, were charged with two felonies, including child neglect without great bodily harm and possession of cocaine. They also face two misdemeanor charges for possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Ivey fired Worthy shortly after he was taken into custody.

The apprehension of Worthy and Trexler came several hours after residents near Stadium Parkway heard half a dozen gunshots and a woman's scream come from Worthy's home about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Ivey said deputies went to the home but neither Worthy nor Trexler would open the door.

Deputies then obtained a search warrant and conducted a search of the residence around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Inside, deputies found Worthy and Trexler's 2-year-old child living in squalid conditions, along with small amounts of cocaine and marijuana, Ivey said. The child was taken into the care of Department of Children and Families personnel.

Worthy was named Florida's Deputy of the Year by the Florida Sheriff's Association in 2016. He was involved in a Cocoa-area shooting in which he shot and killed an armed suspect who had been firing a weapon in the area in March of 2015.

Worthy grew up in Satellite Beach and joined the Army Rangers. He served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Worthy was awarded a Silver Star for Bravery from the American Police Hall of Fame in 2015. Other honors include recognition by the Brevard County Association of Chiefs of Police as the county's law enforcement officer of the year and a medal of valor for his actions in two separate incidents in 2015.

Lamaur Stancil is a breaking news reporter for Florida Today and TCPalm.com. He can be reached at 321-242-3662 or 321-987-7179. E-mail him at lamaur.stancil@tcpalm.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TCPalmLStancil.



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