Lakeland, Florida – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office have served a warrant and arrested Ira Stafford, DOB 7/28/1994 and charged him with Attempted 1st Degree Murder & Armed Burglary with Assault & Battery. The arrest stemmed from an incident that occurred on 4/3/2019 when a shooting took place at a residence on Arizona Ave. on Lakeland. Stafford was arrested on June 4, 2019.
An excerpt of the arrest affidavit is below:
“On 4/3/2019 at 2038 hours, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a shooting on Arizona Avenue. When deputies arrived, they located a subject with a gunshot wound to his left leg in the doorway of 213 1/2 Arizona Avenue. The victim was identified as Dion West. The victim was transported to Lakeland Regional Health. Hospital staff advised the gunshot wound fractured a bone in the victim’s leg and would require surgery.
At approximately 2100 hours, I was directed to respond to Lakeland Regional Health and assume the investigation. I made contact with the victim and obtained a sworn recorded statement. The victim advised between 2000 and 2100 hours, he was watching a show on TV when he heard someone knocking on the door. The victim looked through the window to see who it was. The victim saw that a black male who used to live next to him was knocking on the door. The victim further advised that the black male was “Keke’s” boyfriend, and that they were his neighbors for 2 to 3 years. During those 2 to 3 years, the victim hung out with “Keke’s” boyfriend multiple times, and believed his name sounded like “Isaac”, and he was originally from Jacksonville.
The victim opened the door for “Keke’s” boyfriend and the subject asked the victim if he wanted to smoke. The subject also began telling the victim about issues he was having with “Keke”. The victim then saw two suspects approach the front door, wearing ski masks, and pointing handguns at the victim. The victim tried to close the door, but “Keke’s” boyfriend was not letting him close it. The victim heard the suspects saying “shoot him, shoot him”, and “get him, get him”. The victim advised “Keke’s” boyfriend also brandished a handgun and was pointing it at him. The victim then heard a loud bang and ran inside his house, at which time he noticed he had been shot in his left leg. As the victim tried to hide in his bathroom, he heard another gun shot. The victim hid in the bathroom and when he knew the suspects were gone, he came back out and heard a vehicle speeding southbound on Arizona Avenue. The victim then called 911 to report he had been shot.
The victim advised he had “Keke’s” boyfriend’s phone number saved in his phone. The victim’s phone was left at the scene when he was shot.
The victim provided written consent to search his residence for evidence. At the victim’s residence, one .40 caliber spent casing was located outside, in front of the front door. Two clear baggies with a green leafy substance were located outside on the ground. Several small pieces of a white, rock-like substance were observed on the floor inside the victim’s residence, in front of the door. An additional .40 caliber spent casing was located inside the victim’s residence, in front of the hallway where the bathroom is located. Apparent blood was observed on the floor outside and inside the residence.
The victim advised the green leafy substance and the rock-like substance were not his, and denied that the altercation was drug related. The victim’s cell phone was located at the scene. I took the phone back to the victim at the hospital and he pulled up the contact in his phone “Keke Boyfriend JV” with a phone number of 904-248¬2406. The victim looked up “Keke” on Facebook and found a picture of “Keke” and her boyfriend. The victim then found “Keke’s” boyfriend’s Facebook “West Jax Hardhead”. Detectives learned that the phone number 904-248-2406 was possibly associated to Ira Stafford B/M 7/28/1994. Detectives viewed Ira Stafford’s Florida driver’s license photo and noticed it was the same subject on the picture with “Keke”, and the same subject whose pictures are on the Facebook profile, “West Jax Hardhead”.
I showed the victim the driver’s license photo for Ira Stafford B/M 7/28/1994, and he positively identified him as the suspect who knocked on the door and spoke with him, who later pointed a gun at him when two additional suspects showed up. The victim was not able to tell which one of the three suspects fired the rounds at him. Ira Stafford was not wearing anything on his face when he knocked on the door and spoke to the victim.”
Stafford is currently in Polk County Jail. This is not Stafford’s first time being arrested. He was arrested in 2016 for domestic violence against his girlfriend “Keke”. At that time he had an outstanding warrant for possession of a weapon and ammunition by a delinquent adult felon in Duval County.
