On December 31, 2024, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 30-year-old Kody Jo Wills of Lakeland, Florida, on charges of DUI manslaughter, DUI causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of negligent child abuse. The charges stem from a November 7, 2024, crash that resulted in the death of Wills’Continue Reading
A 44-year-old cold case has finally been solved after decades of investigation, revealing that former Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputy John J. Greer was responsible for the murder of 25-year-old Adele Marie Easterly in 1979. Greer, who passed away in March 2024 at age 77, admitted to the killing during aContinue Reading
A Port Charlotte man is in jail after throwing a Molotov cocktail at an occupied vehicle in his driveway early on December 30, 2024. Jon Scott Warner, 61, was first contacted by deputies on Sunday, December 29, after a domestic dispute call at his residence on Midway Blvd. Deputies spokeContinue Reading
On the evening of December 26, 2024, 74-year-old Jack Plank, an inmate at the Charlotte County Jail, passed away following a medical episode. Mr. Plank, who had a known medical condition, had been in custody since December 6, when he was arrested following a domestic incident. During his stay, heContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested 19-year-old Langston Rowe of Altamonte Springs (Seminole County), on five felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The arrest is the result of FDLE’s statewide initiative to locate and arrest criminals sharing files depicting the sexual abuse of children. TheContinue Reading
John Riley was arrested on the evening of December 26, 2024, after multiple incidents at the Fireside Lounge in Davenport. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Fireside Lounge management initially called authorities around 8:40 p.m. to have Riley trespassed from the property. Despite the warning, Riley returned toContinue Reading
A 57-year old man was arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, December 19, 2024, after an investigation determined that he intentionally and repeatedly touched the buttocks of a 16-year old girl at the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 4625 South Florida Avenue in Lakeland. Awny Abdel Malek Basta ofContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a murder-suicide that occurred in New Tampa on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. At 6:31 p.m., HCSO’s Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting a shooting in the 18000 block of Royal Forest Drive. Deputies responding to the scene found 67-year-old Steven Glantz withContinue Reading
On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at approximately 7:45 p.m., Orlando Police officers responded to reports of an in-progress assault with a knife at the Fountains at Metrowest Apartments on the 5900 block of Westgate Drive. Upon arrival, officers approached a second-story apartment with an open door and observed the suspectContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 36-year-old Donald Mitchell of Lakeland for sexual offenses against a student by an authority figure (F2). On December 10, 2024, the former student, a 19-year-old female, reported via social media that she had been engaged in a sexual relationship with Mitchell from October of 2023,Continue Reading