A judge found Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann in violation of her probation and imposed ten days she will serve as weekend work

A Collier County judge on Monday found Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann in violation of her probation, and imposed ten days that her attorney elected to serve as weekend work rather than jail.

Gulf Coast News reporter Alexa Velez and the WINK News digital team both covered the hearing. Their accounts, published and updated on Monday afternoon and evening, agree on the substance of what the court did.

The probation runs from a 2024 case in which Heitmann faced a charge of driving under the influence. Its conditions prohibit her from using drugs or alcohol. A random urine sample collected on March 26 returned a positive result for cannabinoids, which is what brought the matter before the court.

Heitmann testified. She stated repeatedly that she has never used marijuana, and said that when she learned of the March result she told her probation officer it could not be correct. Her attorney presented a fresh laboratory test taken shortly afterwards, and a hair sample test taken days later, both of which the defence said returned negative results. Her probation officer and the administrator of the drug test were also questioned.

The judge ruled that the original March test was sufficient to establish the presence of cannabinoids in her system, and found her in violation on that basis.

Prosecutors asked for ten days in jail. The judge did not order that. The court imposed ten days that could be served in one of three ways: straight jail time, weekend lockdown, or weekend work. Heitmann's attorney chose weekend work, and the court confirmed with counsel that it can begin as early as August 10. What the weekend work will involve has not been released.

The court also extended her probation, setting a new termination date of May 16, 2027, and required additional drug testing. All other original conditions remain in place. Travel restrictions were lifted, on the basis, as WINK News reported it, that she is not considered a flight risk.

The same March sample also returned a positive result for amphetamines. Heitmann attributed that result to a Vyvanse prescription she holds for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the Gulf Coast News account.

Outside the courtroom Heitmann made a brief comment, her first public statement on the matter. She called it "a shame," according to Gulf Coast News.

A note on the two headlines is warranted, because they do not say the same thing. WINK News headlined its account as the mayor being ordered to serve jail time. Gulf Coast News headlined a finding of guilt following the positive test and described ten days of weekend service. The bodies of the two accounts reconcile: ten days were imposed, three methods of service were available, and the defence selected weekend work. On the reporting available, she is not being taken into custody. Where the two accounts differ only in emphasis, this brief follows what both bodies describe rather than either headline.

Two limits on this brief should be stated rather than left implicit. This publication has not obtained the written order, the case docket, or the laboratory reports, and the account above rests on the courtroom reporting of two outlets rather than on a document. And nothing in Monday's proceeding addressed Heitmann's position as mayor. The court extended a probation and set a service obligation. It did not remove her from office, suspend her, or restrict her duties, and no filing before us does so.

The finding is the court's, on a record Heitmann disputed in her own testimony. Her denial and the defence testing are part of that record and are reported here alongside the ruling.

This brief credits Gulf Coast News and reporter Alexa Velez, and the WINK News digital team, for the reporting, and links their accounts. The WINK News account is at winknews.com.