Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed the State Attorney’s division chief in Bradford County as the Levy County judge.
Luis Bustamante has been the division chief in Starke since 2015. His previous positions include jobs with the State Attorney’s Office in Daytona Beach and the Statewide Prosecutor’s Office based in Tallahassee. The Chiefland resident has also been in private practice.
Bustamante replaces James T. “Tim” Browning, who retired in May and died on Sept. 20.
The Eighth Judicial Circuit’s Nominating Commission submitted six candidates to the governor for consideration. In addition to Bustamante, the applicants were Sunshine Dawn Baynard of Chiefland, Arielle Screws of Williston, Cheryl Dianne Westmoreland of Morriston, Doreen T. Inkeles of Trenton, and Caridad Susana Torres of Gainesville.
