Daytona Beach board orders 7‑day closure of Jay Food Store; owner must run background checks, pay fine

The Daytona Beach Nuisance Abatement Board voted Thursday to close Jay Food Store, 600 N. Ridgewood Ave., for seven days beginning Jan. 27 and to require background checks on all store employees and any contracted security guards, after hearing months‑long testimony from police, the store owner and the store’s security contractor.

The board also ordered the owner to pay a previously assessed $5,000 penalty no later than Feb. 4, 2025. Board members said the step was necessary to enforce a February 2024 abatement order that the board found the business had not fully complied with.

Why it matters: Board members and city attorneys told the panel Jay Food Store has a long history of nuisance findings dating to earlier orders and that public‑safety concerns at the property — including arrests for drug possession and repeated police calls — have persisted. Police evidence presented at the hearing showed hundreds of calls logged to that address in the last year; the police witness summarized that “199 calls were actually originated from that property,” including calls initiated by store staff or security. Owner Raymond Sayeed acknowledged the expense of private security and told the board “it is close to $70,000” spent on security services since the prior order.

Testimony and evidence

Daytona Beach Police Sergeant Shauna Conley, the department’s code liaison, testified that the department’s computer‑aided dispatch review for the property from Feb. 2, 2024, through Jan. 1, 2025, produced a list of calls the department compiled for the board. Conley said the list showed 199 calls to the property; of those, 27 originated from the store or its security staff and 15 of those were trespass‑related calls initiated by the store or its security.

Owner Raymond Sayeed (also recorded in the hearing transcripts as Saied/Sayed) said he had complied with many elements of the board’s order but described practical challenges. Sayeed testified that he had enlisted a licensed private firm, SC Protection Agency, after the board’s February 2024 order; he said the security contract had cost roughly $70,000 and defended the company’s overall service while acknowledging three incidents in which guards were not on post or were not properly licensed at the time officers checked on them.

Fabian McKnight, who identified himself as the owner/operator of the security company that provided guards to the store, told the board the company had been inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture (the licensing body for private security in Florida) and that the agency had worked with his company on compliance and temporary permits for guards while full licensing was processed.

Legal and procedural context

City assistant attorney Melissa Diaz and city counsel argued the board had authority under Florida’s nuisance abatement statute, Florida Statute 893.138, and the City of Daytona Beach’s implementing code to modify the prior February 2024 order and to impose sanctions for noncompliance during the current period of jurisdiction. Board counsel noted the board’s jurisdiction under the statute does not exceed one year from the date of a finding, and members discussed the limits and risks of extending jurisdiction beyond that statutory period.

Board decision and vote

After deliberation, the board found the conditions at Jay Food Store remained sufficiently entwined with nuisance activity that a temporary closure was the least‑restrictive effective enforcement step available. The board voted to: - Close Jay Food Store for seven days, commencing Jan. 27, 2025, and ending Feb. 2, 2025; - Require that the owner run FDLE/Florida Department of Agriculture checks or equivalent background checks on all employees and any contracted security guards serving the property; - Require payment of the previously ordered $5,000 penalty by Feb. 4, 2025; and - Leave all other provisions of the board’s Feb. 2024 order in place during the board’s remaining jurisdiction.

The motion passed on a roll call vote (four in favor, one opposed). The board instructed city staff to draft a written order reflecting the action and to record any unpaid civil assessment as a lien if not paid by the Feb. 4 deadline.

What was not found or imposed

Board members and counsel repeatedly noted the hearing did not establish new findings of drug sales for the current period equivalent to the bases for the 2024 nuisance finding. The board’s action modifies enforcement of the 2024 order and imposes a short closure and compliance requirements rather than issuing a new long‑term abatement order; the board discussed but did not adopt the city’s more aggressive request to extend jurisdiction beyond the one‑year period provided under state law.

Next steps and deadlines

City legal staff will prepare a written order reflecting the board’s motion and will circulate it to the parties for signature. The owner must pay the outstanding $5,000 by Feb. 4, 2025, or the city may record a lien and pursue collection. The store must be closed for the seven‑day period beginning Jan. 27, 2025, and must provide evidence of completed background checks for current staff and security contractors as required by the board.

The board said it will monitor compliance and that additional enforcement — including court action or another abatement proceeding — remains available to the city if the conditions return after the board’s jurisdiction lapses.