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
Deputies with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested 70-year-old Harold Church Jr. of St. Petersburg on December 5, 2024, for felony Misuse of a Laser Lighting Device after he illuminated an airborne Sheriff’s Office helicopter. According to deputies, at approximately 8:10 p.m. on Thursday, the Sheriff’s helicopter was assisting inContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested 34-year-old Warner Reid Smith of Leesburg, on three felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse (CSAM). The arrest is the result of FDLE’s statewide initiative to locate and arrest criminals sharing files depicting the sexual abuse of children. The investigation began inContinue Reading
Thomas Griffin, a 51-year-old middle school teacher at McLaughlin Middle School in Lake Wales, was arrested on December 17, 2024, following a violent attack on an adult male. Griffin faces charges of burglary with assault, false imprisonment, and battery by strangulation. On December 14, 2024, Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO)Continue Reading
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Donghui Liao, 32, of China, pleaded guilty to possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices, specifically gift cards, as part of an ongoing organized fraud scheme. Liao faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with sentencing yet to beContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of 32-year-old Gregory Maynard, a deputy with the department, who was found with a gunshot wound in his Davenport home late Sunday. Deputies responded to Maynard’s residence at approximately 10:08 p.m. on December 15, 2024. Upon arrival, Maynard was found inContinue Reading
Five unknown suspects broke into Bella Citta Elementary School in Polk County on the night of November 28, 2024. The suspects initially attempted to enter the school through several locked doors but were unsuccessful. They then accessed the back courtyard via a gate and entered through the cafeteria. Once inside,Continue Reading