A former Polk County deputy, who had been employed as a trainee and deputy Sheriff for less than 11 months, was arrested by the agency on Thursday, March 20, 2025 after an investigation showed that he had signed a victim’s name to a document in an official report.
21-year old Jake Germak was booked-in to the Polk County Jail and charged with: Forgery (F3), Uttering a False Instrument (F3), Use ID of another Person without Consent (F3), and Public Servant Altering Official Document (F3).
Germak resigned at the time of his arrest; had he not resigned, his employment would have been terminated by the PCSO.
“Public servants must be held to a higher standard, and dishonesty will not be tolerated. Germak’s conduct was unethical and criminal, and we are making sure he will be held responsible.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Germak investigated a theft complaint on March 17, 2025, but failed to get the victim to sign a document as required.
Later that night, Germak attempted to call and text the victim. In the first text, Germak informed the victim that he needed her to fill out a form that had to be included in the report.
In Germak’s second text to the victim, he told her that he “got it handled.”
On March 18th, when detectives began the follow-up investigation of the theft, they made contact with the victim who mentioned the text messages from Germak. She also said that she spoke with Germak after receiving the texts, and he had mentioned to her that she had signed the documents, which she knew she did not do.
Detectives obtained the document that Germak had turned in with his report, and the victim’s signature did not match her signatures on other official documents.
When PCSO detectives confronted Germak about the discrepancy, he admitted to signing the victim’s name to the document.
Jake Germak was hired by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on April 29, 2024.
