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The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of eight teenagers caught trying to steal more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from a local Dick’s Sporting Goods in Posner Plaza, Davenport. The teens, who are from Pennsylvania, are members of a Philadelphia youth football team, the United Thoroughbreds, who were in Polk County participating in the Prolifix Nationals tournament. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office shared, “On Saturday, December 6, 2025, at approximately 10:55 a.m., PCSO deputies responded to a report of retail theft in progress at the Dick’s Sporting Goods. The store manager contacted PCSO after observing multiple juveniles concealing...

A gang of Philadelphia teenagers accused of robbing a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Florida while attending a football tournament have been named and shamed by a no-nonsense sheriff. Members of the eight-strong mob were arrested and hit with felony charges after their alleged December 6 theft spree - something they may not have expected in their Pennsylvania home city, whose district attorney is a notoriously woke prosecutor called Larry Krasner.

Sheriff Grady Judd Press Conference Eight teens from PA here in Polk to compete in football tournament arrested for felony retail theft at Posner Park Media Contact: Juliana Rivera, PIO The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has arrested eight teenagers who were caught in the act of conspiring to steal more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from Dick’s Sporting Goods in Posner Plaza, Davenport. Click here to see the news conference: https://youtu.be/U9sCasgpfOU On Saturday, December 6, 2025, at approximately 10:55 a.m., PCSO deputies responded to a report of retail theft in progress at the Dick’s Sporting Goods. The store manager contacted...

HAINES CITY, Fla. — An early-morning shooting Sunday involving a Haines City police officer is under investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Haines City Police Chief Jay Hopwood detailed the incident in a news conference Sunday afternoon. According to Hopwood, the officers involved were conducting a traffic stop on a pickup truck with no tag and dark window tints at approximately 2:30 a.m. in the area of Avenue I and 12th Street N. in Haines City. Hopwood says the suspect in the stopped vehicle suddenly backed up, nearly striking the patrol vehicle and...

Tyler Maxon Avalos from FBI affidavit (Screenshot: Tampa Free Press) An assassination threat against U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has led to the arrest of a 30-year-old Minnesota man, after federal agents tracked a murder-for-hire TikTok post that offered $45,000 for her death. According to the Tampa Free Press, the suspect, Tyler Maxon Avalos of St. Paul, Minnesota, is facing federal charges for Interstate Transmission of a Threat to Injure the Person of Another, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The investigation began on October 9, 2025, when a Detroit-based TikTok user reported a chilling video to the FBI’s...

A childhood rape victim charged with filing a false report by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office when she was 12 has sued Sheriff Grady Judd and multiple employees. It was only after Taylor Cadle secretly took photos and videos of Henry Cadle, her great uncle and adoptive father, during a subsequent rape that the Sheriff’s Office arrested him. He is now serving a 17-year prison sentence.

A Florida man convicted of killing his estranged wife's sister and parents before setting their house on fire was put to death, extending the record number of executions carried out in the Sunshine State this year to 12. David Pittman, 63, died by lethal injection on Wednesday at 6:12p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. While the drugs were being administered, Pittman took a few deep breaths before ceasing all movement, according to The Associated Press. "I know you all came to watch an innocent man be murdered by the state of Florida. I am innocent. I didn’t kill anybody....

A wild brawl broke out among a group of swimsuit-clad boaters at a Florida lake over the weekend — in which one man was knocked unconscious and left floating face down in the water, shocking video shows. The unruly fight happened at Lake Winterset in Polk County, in front of young children relaxing on the lakeside with their families, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. Seven men and a 17-year-old boy were arrested, Sheriff Grady Judd announced Tuesday, as he vowed to make an example out of the hooligans.

Timothy Schultz, a 42-year-old Florida man, survived an apparent gator bite only to die Monday after attacking deputies with garden shears, authorities said. Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Grady Judd alleged in a press conference that Schultz was high on meth during his swim in an alligator-infested lake and subsequent rampage with shears. While Schultz was swimming in the lake, one person tried to warn him about the gators and another threw a life vest at him, according to the sheriff. A gator then appeared to bite his right arm, Judd said. When Schultz emerged from the lake, he allegedly...

Credit: Polk County Sheriff’s Office ******************************************************************** Someone find the world’s smallest violin. An illegal alien and an alleged Tren de Aragua gangster broke down like a baby being arrested in connection with a violent liquor store robbery spree across central Florida, authorities said. Ramon Jesus Carpintero-Luna, 26, was caught alongside four other suspects tied to a series of armed heists that targeted more than 30 liquor stores, netting an estimated $30,000 in stolen goods. Many of the thefts involved threats of violence and a specific focus on high-end liquor, including bottles of premium scotch, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s...

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd gives an update on a human trafficking bust that led to the rescue of four potential victims and157 arrests, including a Disney employee and 25 illegal immigrants.

A multi-agency operation led by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office broke up a transnational theft ring operated by Colombian nationals who illegally entered the country in Texas and Arizona. They made their way to Polk County, Florida, where they allegedly targeted wealthy Asian Americans. Three were released into the country by Border Patrol agents. One was previously deported and illegally reentered evading capture, among two million gotaways during the Biden-Harris administration. All have extensive criminal records, in Colombia, Kansas, Michigan and New York, investigators found. Two are currently detained in county jails, one was deported, and one remains at large.

Teacher Eliva Espinoza, 46, was stabbed to death by her pre-med student son.. Police said Emmanuel Espinoza confessed he did it because she annoyed him .. A beloved Florida elementary school teacher was murdered by her pre-med student son because 'she got on his nerves,' police said. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said University of Florida pre-med student Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, was driving from Gainesville to Frostproof when he decided to kill his mother Saturday. Emmanuel was traveling to attend a family event and had asked his mother, 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza, if he could stay at her house for the...

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd warns squatters he will be their ‘worst enemy’ and has a place for them in jail NEWS Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd warns squatters he will be their ‘worst enemy’ and has a place for them in jail “So one of the first things [to] do is change the language: ‘the bad dude.’ What does that mean? What are the circumstances of that person coming into the criminal justice system in the first place? And what is the background to that person?” she said in a 2017 interview. The Florida sheriff said the idea the...

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said: 'The politicians are politicking while the victims are being victimized' A tough-on-crime Florida sheriff blasted congressional lawmakers for what he said were lax immigration policies after 21 illegal immigrants were among 228 people arrested in a human-trafficking bust. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the eight-day, multi-agency operation titled "Operation March Sadness 2024" included the arrests of military service members, teachers, coaches and medical professionals. The operation began on Feb. 22. Those accused of being in the United States illegally were from Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, the sheriff's office said. "We...

One of the first things workers at a Florida animal shelter noticed when a woman came in with her cats for spay and neutering — aside from the fact there were 22 of them — was the “overwhelming” smell of urine, one of the employees said. The cats weren’t in the best condition. They had fleas, missing fur, green discharge coming from their eyes and noses and “lots of wounds from fighting,” SPCA Florida’s public media director Randa Richter said in a Dec. 22 news conference held by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. SNIP But the shelter became even more...

One of two Florida burglary grand theft suspects with a long criminal history bragged that he would be out of jail shortly after his arrest before he realized he was taken into custody in a county where the law is enforced by a no-nonsense sheriff with a tough-on-crime platform. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his deputies spotted a stolen Dodge Ram just after 1 a.m. Wednesday. The driver, identified as Tamari Lucas, 24, a Tampa resident, and a passenger eventually stopped the truck and fled on foot, authorities said. Lucas was arrested but the passenger was not found, Judd...

One of two Florida burglary grand theft suspects with a long criminal history bragged that he would be out of jail shortly after his arrest before he realized he was taken into custody in a county where the law is enforced by a no-nonsense sheriff with a tough-on-crime platform. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his deputies spotted a stolen Dodge Ram just after 1 a.m. Wednesday. The driver, identified as Tamari Lucas, 24, a Tampa resident, and a passenger eventually stopped the truck and fled on foot, authorities said. [snip] Judd said. Upon his arrest, Lucas allegedly told the...

Living in Florida is expensive. You almost have to have a side hustle just to get by. But one woman in Lakeland, Florida launched a side hustle so lucrative she made it her full time gig. She makes jewelry out of breastmilk. No breastmilk? She can also make jewelry from cremation ashes, hair, placenta or umbilical cord. Personalized keepsakes. According to Good News Network, Rachel Heinze of Lakeland left her job as “a professional neuroscientist that specialized in concussions before quitting her job to stay at home with the kids.” That’s quite a leap, but she’s reportedly making $30K a...

Polk County Sheriff Grady gives an update after eight men, including a Disney employee, were arrested for child pornography. https://www.fox13news.com/news/disney... About 25 minutes, shows pictures of and details regarding those arrested. We need every sheriff in the country working hard to remove these perverts.