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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.

DUNDEE, Fla. (WFLA) – A 24-year-old man has been arrested after he was allegedly seen “peeping through the windows” at a motel, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. On Tuesday, a PCSO deputy was dispatched to the Economy Motor Lodge in Dundee around 5:49 p.m. after a “suspicious person” was reported at the motel. According to officials, a motel employee reported seeing a man walking around the hotel “peeping into room windows.” After arriving at the scene, the PCSO deputy was able to identify the suspicious person as 24-year-old Donte Clinton. When Clinton spoke with the deputy, he confirmed...

POINCIANA, Fla. (AP) - Two people in Florida were arrested after one of them made a 911 call to get help with moving their belongings from a home they were burglarizing, authorities said. Deputies responded to a home Saturday after a 911 call was made but nobody spoke, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. At the home, the deputies concluded that nobody lived there, but they found a male suspect and his girlfriend inside the home after entering it through an unlocked door.

In Polk County Florida, a 30-year-old man is facing multiple charges after his attempt to start a house fire. The man was identified as Luke Neely from Lakeland, Florida. Here is all the craziness that went down: It started Sunday morning when Polk County Deputies received a 911 call at 8:11 AM about a man in a Northlake Neighborhood throwing a "Molotov Cocktail" incendiary weapon at a residence. When police arrived on the scene they witnessed Neely getting into a Chevrolet pickup truck and driving away. The deputies followed him and tried to conduct a traffic stop, but Neely was...

A Florida realtor was stunned to find a nude couple romping in the pool of a property she was preparing to show a client, police said. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported the startled agent pulled up to the empty home in Davenport on Dec. 5 and saw a mysterious car in the driveway around 9:45 a.m. Knowing that no one was authorized to be on the property, the suspicious broker called 911. Responding deputies found a naked and unafraid couple cavorting in the home’s pool. The uninhibited intruders told officers that they had specifically come to the property to...

A 26-year-old former Iowa youth pastor was arrested Monday on allegations he sexually assaulted at least one student and gave alcohol to high schoolers, court documents show. Caleb Daniel Toney was booked into the Polk County Jail on several misdemeanor charges, including assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and giving alcohol to an underage person, his inmate record shows. Court and jail records show he bonded out of jail Tuesday evening. The charges stem from several incidents across Story and Polk counties, the criminal complaints indicate. First, Ames police accuse Toney in a criminal complaint of getting a 15-year-old...

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies shot an arsonist his his manhood. “We’ve changed the looks of his groin forever — if you know what I mean,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference. Luke Neely is facing a number of charges after he threw molotov cocktails at a house and then led police on a high speed chase. The chase ended near Dinosaur World when police opened fire. Neely was found with a loaded AR-15 and a fully loaded handgun. He’s been charged with 3 counts of attempted first-degree murder, arson, 7 counts of firebombing and one count...

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A central Florida man faces a host of charges after deputies accused him of shooting towards two people and pointed a rifle and laser at a sheriff’s helicopter Saturday night. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Kenneth Massey, 48, was arrested near Avon Park. In a tweet, the sheriff’s office said Massey told detectives that he did everything because he was “being stupid.”

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A central Florida man took out his anger over nearby construction work by shooting into a vehicle over the weekend, earning him two attempted murder charges, according to authorities in Polk County. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 75-year-old Richard Vitiritti shot into the occupied vehicle Saturday night in the Lake Hatchineha area, near Haines City. No one was hurt. In addition to two counts of attempted murder, Vitiritti also faces charges of shooting into an occupied vehicle and tampering with evidence.

A gun-toting father and son duo shot at an innocent woman they mistakenly believed wanted to break into their Florida home in what authorities characterized as a “really, really stupid” incident. “This ranks among the craziest stuff that I have seen in a while and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said of the Saturday morning incident. Gino Colonacosta, 73, and son Rocky, just 15, thought an intruder was lurking when it was just a good neighbor who dropped off a package of medicine at their door that was sent to the wrong home...

Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd is telling residents of his county to protect their homes by shooting looters until they look “like grated cheese.” Grady told FOX News on Friday, “People have a right to be safe in their homes. They have a right for their property to be safe, even when part of their home may be torn away, and these looters, that’s unacceptable.” Grady went on to encourage Polk county residents to defend their property from looters and to make sure looters understand there could be a high price to pay for taking advantage of hurricane victims.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies arrested 160 people in a seven-day operation focused human trafficking in its area. Deputies said the arrests from “Fall Haul 2” included school teachers, a state corrections officer, and a Disney employee. Twenty-six of those charged were said to be married men, and 15 of the arrests involved people from outside of Florida.

A Florida teacher is facing criminal charges over allegations she bit two students in a dispute over a jar of pickles. According to WFLA, Bartow police and the Florida state attorney's office have filed two misdemeanor battery charges against Polk County educator Rhonda Rice. She is due to be arraigned on March 31. The charges relate to an alleged incident that took place at Bartow Middle School in October 2021. Kathy Toro told WFLA her 15-year-old nephew and another student were allegedly bitten by Rice, who was working there as a teacher, after she attempted to take a jar of...