Reporter: Maddie Herron
•7/28/2026
NAPLES, Fla. (WINK)—A Collier County judge says Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann is guilty of violating her DUI probation.
The judge sentenced Heitmann to 10 days in jail, but she won't exactly be behind bars. Her attorney chose the county's "weekend work program" as her method of serving time.
WINK News reporter Maddie Herron was in the courtroom and spoke with a local defense attorney, unaffiliated with the mayor's case, about what that could look like.
Heitmann left the Collier County Courthouse, maintaining she did not violate her DUI probation. In March, a random state-issued drug test states she tested positive for cannabinoids.
Despite two negative tests taken independently at another facility, the judge said the first positive test was enough to constitute a probation violation. The judge extended Heitmann's probation to May 2027 and sentenced her to 10 days in jail.
"She should get whatever everybody else gets, I don't care if you're the mayor or if you're not the mayor," said Andrew Aste, a Naples resident.
Defense Attorney Malcam Godwin is unaffiliated with the mayor's case but works in the same court district.
"I absolutely think that's standard," Godwin said. "This is just a positive test, one singular positive test. I don't think she got any preferential treatment here. If anything, giving her 10 days work program that may be closer to harsh than it would be closer to a slap on the wrist."
Heitmann's legal team chose to serve her time through the county's weekend work program.
"The option that most working people would take is the work program," Godwin said. "It's a variety of activities you may have to do. For example, that day you may just be washing all the Collier County cars, Collier County Sheriff's cars, or you may be picking up trash on the side of the road."
The Collier County Sheriff's Office website says the weekend work program runs Friday through Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some of the rules listed include showing up at the jail no later than 6:30 a.m., obeying all orders from officers, wearing clothes suitable for outdoor work, staying on the work site within officers' view, and having no contact with anyone outside your work detail.
"Whatever days that you signed up for, you have to do those days," Godwin said. "If you miss any of those days, then you will violate that portion of your probation and be right back in front of the judge."
The City of Naples declined to comment on the court decision. Herron reached out to the mayor about whether this verdict will impact her future in office, but has not heard back.
