Nine people have been arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for drug trafficking and various other charges, after a suspicious package was discovered at a shipping facility on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. From that discovery, an investigation was launched, with a collaboration among several PCSO specialized units: High-Intensity Drug-TraffickingContinue Reading
A Polk County middle school teacher, Leslie Bushart, was arrested Thursday for having sexual relations with a juvenile, after the boy’s parents notified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on June 16. Bushart, 49, confessed to another person at a graduation party on June 6 that she performed oral sex onContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Antonie Latimore (36, Winter Haven) to 10 years and 10 months years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine base. Latimore had pleaded guilty on March 6, 2020. According to court documents, the FBI received information that Latimore, spelled in someContinue Reading
Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives and the Lakeland Police Department have coordinated to investigate and arrest five people linked to the crimes and violence which tainted the May 30 and 31 protests in Lakeland. Raul Guzman was charged with inciting a riot for making statements to attempt to start aContinue Reading
Florida Highway Patrol and the Plant City Police Department arrested Alex Antunez in connection to the fatally shooting of a man with a black AR-15 style rifle. Antunez, 26, reportedly was outside of his home in the 100 block of South Forest Street with the unidentified victim and witness. PoliceContinue Reading
Winter Haven Police in Florida are investigating two separate shootings that occurred Wednesday in the Florence Villa neighborhood, identifying the two men dead as Cody Hunt and Rorey Copeland. Public Safety Director Charlie Bird detailed that officers were on Palmetto Avenue 11:36 a.m. Wednesday investigating the shooting of Rorey Copeland,Continue Reading
A 26-year-old Lake Wales man has been arrested in connection with a homicide that occurred in October, police say. Detectives with the Lake Wales Police Department have linked Julian William Bird to the shooting death of Mohammad Allam. Police say that Bird and another man robbed Allam on October 27, then shotContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Lakeland man for the death of a 74-year-old woman was hit and killed by a vehicle earlier this month. Jarvis Kendrick, 37, of Lakeland, was charged with one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, and one count of tamperingContinue Reading
Investigators in Tennessee Monday found a 4-year-old girl who disappeared from her central Florida home on Saturday, and said the former family friend accused of kidnapping her is now in custody. Rebecca Lewis and her kidnapper, “West Wild Hogs,” were located in a vehicle near a Memphis hospital. A nurse recognized theContinue Reading
Polk County police have arrested the president of the Kathleen High School Athletic Booster Club for abusing purchasing power and stealing funds. Identified as Aaron Wilborn, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd detailed the case for the media and members of the community. Investigators say Wilborn stole more than $9,800 from the Kathleen High School AthleticContinue Reading
Speed is to blame for the death of three young people who died in a horrific car wreck on Highway 98 in Lakeland Saturday night, just before midnight. Lakeland Police said Brittany Lewis, 24, Christopher “CJ” Stewart, 22, and Kathrin “Katie” Pitock, 22, all of Lakeland, died in that crashContinue Reading
The man suspected in the deadly Winter Haven home invasion has died, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. Ricardo Garcia Gomez broke into the home of Paul McLees and Mary McLees, threatening the pair with a knife to get into their safe. McLees, 78, opened the safe, pulled the gun fromContinue Reading
The couple attempting to run from a Polk County sheriff’s deputy, but rammed their vehicle into his cruiser, dragging the patrol car into a ditch, have been identified. Cody Bridges, 19, of Plant City, was being sought for a felony warrant out of Hillsborough County for a stolen vehicle, according to theContinue Reading
In an undisclosed location in Polk County, beginning on Tuesday, March 29, through Monday, April 4, 2016, Polk County Sheriff’s undercover detectives, along with detectives and investigators from other agencies, conducted a week-long undercover investigation targeting online child predators and arrested 18 suspects. “Operation April’s Fools” included detectives and agents fromContinue Reading
