Felt moved by Holy Spirit to be named after his Heavenly Father.
An outspoken Lake City man is seeking a new identity.
Sylvester Warren III filed a petition Wednesday to change his name to “god,” according to Columbia County civil court documents.
No hearing date has been set to hear Warren’s petition for a name change, as additional documentation is needed to proceed. Fingerprints must be submitted from the petitioner as part of a criminal background check, which will then be conducted. Warren, a convicted felon, also must submit details of his criminal history, which was left blank on the initial petition, according to the Clerk of Court’s office.
Warren said Friday the inspiration to change his name to “god” came during a month-long sabbatical in August when the Holy Spirit spoke to him spiritually, tugging at his heart.
“I was led by the Holy Spirit and touched in a way that there were some things that needed to be changed in my life,” he said, adding changing his name was one of those changes. “It’s just like people who have children, who are fathers, name their children after them. So he’s my Heavenly Father. I want to be named after my true Father and my true Father is the Creator.”
While wanting to be named after his Heavenly Father, Warren said he chose to lower-case his request out of reference to God.
“I’m not God,” he said. “I’m His son. My Father is capital ‘G.’ I’m His son, so therefore I would be lower-case ‘g.’
“There’s no Warren. It’s just ‘god.’ God my Father doesn’t have a last name so why would I have one.”
The case was originally assigned to Judge Wesley Douglas, who recused himself Thursday. On Friday, the case was assigned to Judge Mark Feagle. The order assigning the case to Feagle noted that Judge Fred Koberlein had previously recused himself from other cases involving Warren.
Warren is not the first person in Columbia County to seek to change his name to “god.” In 2002, Charles Walter Haffey petitioned the court to legally change his name to “god.”
Judge Vernon Douglas rejected that request in May 2002 before granting Haffey’s revised request in October 2002 to change it to “I Am Who I Am.”
In denying Haffey’s original request, Judge Vernon Douglas cited the court’s “responsibility for the public interest” and that most people recognize the presence of a God.
“Granting the name god to Petitioner would significantly increase the likelihood of an improper use of this name or abuse to the individual so named,” Dougas wrote, also noting the difficulties that would arise from having someone called “god” doing normal every-day activities.
“The distraction and controversy of god being subject to the IRS, law enforcement and government generally would be disruptive to such an extent that such a name for an individual would not be in the public’s best interest.”
There is also some uncertainty if the name change petition can legally proceed.
Among the requirements to legally change one’s name listed on the state form is the person could not have had their civil rights suspended. If they were, the petitioner’s rights have to be fully restored.
When Warren was appointed to the City of Lake City’s planning and zoning board, board of adjustments and historic preservation board in May, City Attorney Todd Kennon issued an opinion a month later that he couldn’t legally serve in that role due to not having his rights fully restored.
In that June 2 opinion, Kennon pointed to Article 6, section 4 of the Florida Constitution for why he believed Warren couldn’t legally serve on the planning and zoning board. That section addresses the restoration of a felon’s civil rights. The right to sit on a jury or to hold public office can only be obtained by requesting and being granted clemency. Kennon’s report said Warren indicated his right to vote has been restored.
“However, he has not had his other civil rights restored nor has he been granted clemency related to his felony conviction,” Kennon wrote in the opinion.
Warren resigned his seat on the city’s boards after the Council originally ignored Kennon’s opinion.
Warren also has active criminal cases against him in both Columbia and Hamilton counties. It was not known Friday how those cases impact the petition or are impacted by the request.
His trial for resisting an officer without violence from an April 15 incident in Lake City is set for Jan. 29 following a pretrial conference Tuesday. According to the Lake City Police Department report, Warren interfered during a traffic stop and ignored officers’ orders to stay away from the front of the vehicle.
Warren’s case for resisting an officer without violence and trespassing on school property in Hamilton County is also set to go to trial on Jan. 22 following a Tuesday hearing. That trial stems from a Dec. 17, 2022, basketball game between Columbia High and Hamilton County High in which a fight broke out in the stands. According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office report, when Deputy Sam McDonald told the group to leave, Warren refused and then tried to push away when McDonald grabbed his jacket.
In a video taken by a bystander and posted on Facebook, McDonald is shown grabbing Warren. As he begins to pull Warren from the stands, Warren’s arm goes around the deputy’s back.
Seconds later, Warren’s left hand slides down toward the deputy’s holstered firearm, leading to a scrum involving another officer as they tumble to the gym floor.
According to the report, McDonald said after a few unsuccessful attempts to put Warren in handcuffs, he sat up and placed his shin on the back of the base of Warren’s neck to force his torso to the ground.
A second video taken by another bystander and posted on Facebook showed the deputy drop his knee down on the back of Warren’s head as he was on the gym floor, slamming it into the surface.