Polk County Sheriff Press Release
A traffic stop turned violent for detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
At around 6:02 pm, the detectives performed a routine traffic stop on a white Ford Ranger pickup truck on Power Line Road, near Snell Creek Road, in Haines City.
The driver and the occupant of the passenger seat were cooperative during the stop, but the middle seat passenger was not.
Detectives noticed the man had pulled a white baggie from his pocket, and attempted to hide it behind him.
As the detectives reached in to remove him from the vehicle, he attempted to bite one of the detectives, elbowed a detective in the face, and kicked another detective multiple times on her legs.
During the struggle, the suspect put the white baggie into his mouth.
Detectives were able to secure the suspect in handcuffs, and found him to be in possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
The suspect was identified as 60-year old Esteban Fernandez Uriostegui from Mexico.
Prior to going to the Polk County Jail, detectives took Fernandez Uriostegui to a local hospital to be checked-out as a precaution due to the baggie of cocaine that he appeared to have swallowed.
Once Fernandez Uriostegui was cleared, he was taken to the Polk County Jail and charged with: Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer (F3, 3-counts), Resisting and Officer with Violence (F3), Tampering with Evidence (F3), Possession of Cocaine (F3), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1).
“This violent suspect is in the United States illegally from Mexico. Because of that, each of his crimes was enhanced by one degree because of his unlawful entry into the U.S.—as a result of a new state law that went into effect last month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been notified, which means we should be seeing no more criminal behavior (in the U.S., at least) from this particular individual.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
None of the PCSO detectives were injured during the arrest of Esteban Fernandez Uriostegui.
