LAKELAND, FL (July 3, 2022) – On Saturday, July 2, 2022, at approximately 4:47 p.m., uniform patrol officers responded to the Big Oaks Apartments, located at 1586 Big Oaks Drive, in reference to a shooting. On scene, officers located a 24-year-old male victim inside an apartment with a gunshot wound. Officers immediately began securing the location and rendering aid until emergency medical responders from Lakeland Fire Department and Polk County Fire Rescue arrived. The victim was transported to Lakeland Regional Health, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Detectives responded to the scene and began processing evidence and interviewing potential witnesses, including the multiple people who shared the apartment. While it is very early in the investigation, this does not appear to be a random act.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Troy Smith at 863.834.8958or [email protected].
Or if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Heartland Crime Stoppers Florida:
Or download the free “P3tips” app on your smartphone or tablet.
Tipsters will always remain anonymous when sending a tip through Crime Stoppers and could be eligible for a cash reward if the information leads to an arrest.
The name of the victim is being withheld in accordance with Marsy’s Law. There is no additional information available at this time. When available, additional information will be provided via media release.
Local Home Inspector Teaches Community Members About Their Homes And About The Importance Of Faith
By Allison Williams
Curt Kniffin, Home Inspector of Boomers Property Services in Polk County has lived in Florida for the past 33 years. Not only is he a certified inspector who helps people with both commercial and residential inspections, but he is also a man of faith and is heavily involved with volunteer work across Polk County.
Background on Curt
Curt started construction at the young age of 15 up in the north. Living in Florida for the past three decades he has gained extensive experience working with local county inspectors and local contractors. He works with both commercial properties as well as residential properties.
“I’ve worked for companies that put lipstick on the pig, so to speak,” he said. “So I know the tricks of the trade, if you will.”
For many years prior, Curt was a construction coordinator for Habitat for Humanity in the lower parts of the Florida Keys. During his nine years with Habitat, they built 60 homes and completed rehab work on hundreds. The Florida Keys in known for historic homes, and many of the homes Curt rehabbed were historical homes.
In 2010 alone, his team was completing about 300 rehabs in a single month.
He also spent several years in commercial construction, where he built various fitness clubs and rehabbed retail facilities.
When Curt was just 12 years of age, his mother was killed by a drunk truck driver and he had to go live with his father. This is where the name of his current business, Boomers Property Services stemmed from. He learned at a young age the importance of personal relationships and personal touch. Being a part of the end of the baby boomer era, he came up with his company name.
“The baby boomers crowd seems to be the crowd who is more willing to work hard no matter what it takes to get the job done,” Curt said. He added, “Today’s 30- or 40-year-olds, are more of a non-confrontational crowd, where they’re used to texting and emailing and having a digital relationship. The baby boomers are about personal relationships and building a human relationship, shaking hands, personal meetings, and talking with people; whereas this new generation is about zoom meetings, distancing and getting things done without that personal touch. We always welcome and accommodate both. I’m not disparaging to the younger crowd. It’s just a new and different way that works for them, and gets the job done. We’re flexible.”
Adding that personal touch is an important part of what Curt does with Boomers Property Services. He never rushes his inspections. It is most important to him to get a complete and comprehensive report while taking his time, no matter what at the end of the day. He looks deeper and is never about how many he can get done, but is about how complete can he get this one inspection done.
“The client really needs an advocate,” Curt believes. “They need a third party, independent, non-biased opinion of this house.”
Curt doesn’t offer summaries and opinions after completing an inspection. That is not what it’s about. His job isn’t to recommend whether a client should proceed with a house purchase for example. His job is to report what he sees and finds. He does not have nor give an opinion.
“I’m obligated, morally obligated to write down what I see,” he said. “I’m not concerned about the deal whatsoever. What I’m concerned about is making sure that the house is safe, secure and sound for decades to come.”
Curt’s honest work carries through to his volunteer work. He is heavily involved in the community, for both youth and for adults. He is sponsoring the Lakeland High School Dreadknaughts football program as well as the Lake Gibson High school football program this year. His sponsorship will allow him to hang a banner and have a logo in each football program. They are even going to hand out business coupons to help the community save money on inspections. He is supporting the youth while helping people save money on inspections.
“I’m always happy to support the youth because like I said my mom was killed when I was 12 and I’ve just been on my own ever since,” Curt said. “I think it’s a shame that people don’t support our youth and encourage them along the way because I surely didn’t get that growing up.”
Curt is also a man of faith. He belongs to Faith Baptist Church and also volunteers every second Saturday at the Lighthouse Ministry.
“It’s a ministry that helps people put their lives back together when they’re ready to put down the drugs and alcohol and clean up their lives,” Curt said. “The Lighthouse provides them food, shelter, clothing, and even work to where they can stay there, and part of their salary goes into a savings account so they can get back out on their own.”
He just signed up as well to become a mentor/discipleship, where he will visit weekly to give people outside support and encouragement.
“I do my best to give back to the community as much as I can,” Curt said. “I love to teach people.”
Whether it is teaching people how to live a life of faith or teaching people about their homes, Curt is always lending a helping hand.
Convicted felon who pulls handgun on deputies shot
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a deputy-involved shooting in the Wahneta area of unincorporated Winter Haven. No deputies were injured.
According to the preliminary investigation, at about 3:45 p.m. Thursday afternoon, June 30, 2022, detectives were following-up on information that a man in the area was possibly in possession of a stolen handgun and may have been involved with a stolen motorcycle.
The two detectives spotted a white male suspect who matched the description given, walking on Avenue A West near 17th Street West. The detectives, who were wearing vests marked with SHERIFF, stopped and attempted to make contact with him.
The suspect, later identified as 31 year old Brent Conley, abruptly pulled out a hand gun on the detectives.
Fearing for their lives and safety, one of the detectives fired his handgun at Conley to stop the threat. The detectives then began life-saving measures on Conley and requested medical assistance from Polk County Fire Rescue.
Conley was transported to a local hospital for treatment, and was last reported in critical but stable condition. The handgun Conley had is a 9mm handgunit was recovered at the scene and was loaded.
“When you pull a gun on my deputies, they have an obligation to protect themselves and othersyou can expect to be shot.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Conley has a prior criminal history consisting of 12 felonies and 9 misdemeanors which includes charges for Aggravated Battery, Burglary, Obstruction, Battery on LEO, Theft, Resisting, and Drug Possessions. He was released from the Polk County Jail on May 12, 2022 (arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine, Marijuana, and Paraphernalia, and Resisting). He was released from Florida State Prison on August 8, 2021.
Standard protocol for all deputy-involved shootings includes three independent investigations: PCSO will conduct a criminal investigation, PCSO Administrative Investigations will conduct an administrative inquiry, and the State Attorney’s Office will conduct a separate investigation.
As TrophyCatch heads into the last months of Season 10 and the 10-Tag Celebration, eight more prized fish are still swimming in Florida lakes and the FWC is offering clues about where to find them. These new tagging maps of the remaining lakes could lead lucky anglers to the pink-tagged bass.
Through Florida bass telemetry and tagging studies, FWC biologists have found that where a largemouth bass is tagged and released can frequently coincide with where an angler catches the same bass weeks, months or even years later. Based on these patterns in bass behavior, TrophyCatch is releasing “tag zone” maps for the remaining eight waterbodies, showing the areas where the prized bass were tagged and could potentially be caught.
Dale Dew, who caught the first 10-Tag bass, was within yards of where the fish was released with its pink tag in Lake Griffin. Of course, these hints come with a caveat: while bass can be predictable, there are many exceptions to their typical home range patterns and some bass are not homebodies at all. In contrast to Dew’s catch, the second reported 10-Tag bass was caught by RJ Crawford in Newnans Lake over three miles away from where it was tagged. Thus, these new hints don’t eliminate water in which a 10-Tag bass might be found but should be treated as higher-probability areas. View each of the ranges on the maps located on the 10-Tag Celebration web page. Let’s see how many can be found!
For general waterbody information, fishing forecasts, virtual tours, plant control operation schedules and annual workplans, boat ramp information, and more, visit the “What’s Happening on My Lake” website at MyFWC.com/Lake. To learn about top destinations to go freshwater fishing, go to MyFWC.com/Fishing, click on “Freshwater Fishing” and select “Fishing Forecasts.” You can learn more about FWC stocking programs by visiting MyFWC.com/fishing, clicking on “Freshwater Fishing” and then “Fish Stocking.”
Content Warning: The following selection contains profanity and adult situations. Strong language has been censored. Reader discretion strongly advised.
The following is a selection from “Hood Riches: BoostinB*****”, an urban romance by Trinidy. To read the full story, check out her novel and other books on Amazon in e-book and paperback. Follow the links below for more details.
*****
3:42 a.m.
“Hey, stop! Bring yo’ a** back here!” The police officer shouted as I took off running outta the store as fast as my six-month pregnant belly would allow me. Which wasn’t fast at all. It was more like I was power walking. I looked back to see how far the fat a** police officer was behind me, and to see where Itali was. D***, I hope she went in the other direction. This what the f***happens when you don’t listen to your first mind, you get caught.
Itali and I ran in the Versace store at Houston Premium Outlet. Now we were running like some runaway slaves. My stomach started to cramp. I was dropping the clothes that I snatched, and my legs burned like turkey legs on the grill. Just as I was turning the corner heading to the stolen car, I ran into another police officer.
“Get yo’ f***kin’ hands off me.” I demanded struggling to get away from the police. “Is all this necessary?” I questioned the officer with my face frowned up.
“This is very much necessary, with yo’ thieving a**.” The officer said snatching my arms behind my back so that he could handcuff me.
“I’m pregnant, dammit!” I made sure to put emphasis on the fact that this mu’f***a was snatching and pulling on me, like he couldn’t see my d*** stomach protruding. I was out of breath and tired, snatching away from the officer I sat my big a** down on scorching curb.
“Alright be easy guys, as you can see her stupid a** is pregnant” They picked me up off the ground immediately, while laughing. I turned to look at the officer who was talkin’ s*** to me. I wasn’t surprised to see he was black trying to act white.
“You talk big shit Mr. Jones,” I said reading the name on his badge. I bet yo’ p**** a** wouldn’t last a day in the hood.”
“You can talk all you want, but I’m not the one who is going to have to explain to that child why you missed out on half their life because you were in prison. Keep that same nasty a**attitude at sentencing,” he said, winking at me. I wanted to choke his b**** a** out.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” I screamed. His b**** a** was gettin’ on my nerves he had my a** itching. If he mentioned my baby one more time it was gon’ be over for his a**, he really didn’t know who he was f*****’ with.
“We got a feisty one,” the other officer said grabbing me by my arm and pushing me towards the police car that was closest to me.
“We’ll see how feisty she is once she gets booked.”
I couldn’t believe I was sittin’ in the back of a f*****’ police car. I was trying to hold it together, hearing them raggedy a**officers talk about my baby had me p***ed. I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. Snot was running out of my nose; I could taste the saltiness of it. I still didn’t know where my sister was.
I wiggled my hands to try and adjust the handcuffs because they were tight as hell. When I looked out the police car all I saw were flashing red and blue lights. It had to be about five or six police cars here just for me. The manager and security guard that originally spotted me were talking to the police officers that just picked me up off the ground, pointing their fingers at me…
S***! I jumped up in the bed soaked in sweat. I looked over to my right and Cory was laying there fast asleep. I took both my hands and pushed my hair back while getting out of the bed. I slid on my silk robe and silk house shoes and headed to the master bathroom. I switched the light on looking in the mirror to see that my edges were sweated out. D***, I just got my hair done. I turned the water on and ran some over my face with my right hand. I reached for the decorative towel I had on one of the rings on the wall. I didn’t allow anyone to touch my towels, but at this moment I didn’t care.
The dream I just had scared the s*** out of me, it was too real. Long as I’ve been a booster, I never got caught. Knock on wood. This was all I knew. I wanted to do something legal. I just didn’t know what. For right now though, this was my life and I’m gon’ continue to get this money.
*****
About the Author
Born and raised in Lake Wales, Trinidy graduated from Prairie View A&M University on May 14, 2022 with a bachelor’s in business administration. She will be returning to college later this year to obtain her bachelor’s in education, and she plans on getting a doctorate in law school.
Her passion remains writing. She has thus far published eight books on Amazon. Inspired by the urban fiction of Tony Morrison, Trinidy blends steamy romance with a gritty realism that speaks to the lived experiences of people like herself.
Her books are available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NoedCt For more info, visit her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authortrinidy/
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating a fatal crash that occurred, Tuesday, June 28, 2022 in unincorporated Lakeland.
At around 3:30 a.m., PCSO deputies and members of Polk County Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the single-vehicle crash on Main Street East just west of Eleanor Drive.
According to the preliminary investigation, 48-year-old Pedro Alcantra of Lakeland was driving a white 2001 Ford F-150 westbound on Main Street East, when for unknown reasons, the truck traveled across the eastbound lane and into a ditch on the south side of the road. The truck then hit a culvert and crashed into a power pole on the southwest corner of the intersection.
Mr. Alcantra died at the scene.
Excessive speed is being investigated as a possible cause. Main Street East was closed in the area of the crash for about four hours during the investigation, which remains on-going.
Polk County, Florida – The Polk County Fire Rescue Department already in the midst of a severe shortage of staff may be looking for a new chief! The Daily Ridge was made aware that PCFR Chief Robert Weech was seeking the position of fire chief for the City of Lighthouse Point Florida. The city board will vote on a resolution tonight on whether to hire Chief Weech.
The Daily Ridge reached out to the county for comment as no public statements have been released at this time. According to Polk County Communication Director, Mianna Nelson, the county is aware of Chief Weech seeking the position, but have no formal resignation at this time.
Both Chief Robert Weech & Deputy County Manager Joe Halman, Jr have presided over what is becoming a crisis for the professionals in the Polk County Fire Rescue. Staff is is being over taxed. While they are not alone due to the pandemic, they have problems that go way deeper than the pandemic. It’s well documented how the department treated a long standing fire fighter just because he wanted to work for a volunteer agency. The story of Jerry Riner is well known by many, but many other situations occurred that fire rescue professionals just simply quit or gave up on doing what they loved by volunteering. Morale among the staff appears to be very low.
In an article from WFLA in January of this year describes the change in mandatory overtime from 48-72 hours . In that article “They have to get the scheduling under control because you’re not going to have much of a department over the next couple years,” said Dionte Brown, who lives in Winter Haven.
Here are a few recent posts to Polk County Professional Firefighters – IAFF Local 3531 social media page:
“Did you know the current state of Polk Fire staffing?? For too long the men and women of PCFR have been bearing the burden of staffing shortages that the County has failed to provide any actual resolution to.
Todays staffing 6/25/22: 18 – Members working Mandatory Overtime 5 – Engines with 2 personnel instead of 3 personnel 1 – Engine COMPLETELY out of service 1 – Advanced life support engine without a state certified Paramedic on board
Please help us spread the word. This is unacceptable and is a disservice to the hard working tax payers of Polk County
—————
“Today’s staffing 6/26/2022: 22 – Members working Mandatory Overtime”
—————
“Todays staffing 6/27/22: 24 – Members working Mandatory Overtime 3 – Engines with 2 personnel instead of 3 personnel”
—————
“Did you know that so far this year, the men and women of PCFR have worked a combined total of 87,843 HOURS OF MANDATORY OVERTIME?? Current as of 6/27/22”
As one fire rescue person told the Daily Ridge “They need to do better”
Welcome, World Travelers! Do Not Watch Lightyear. It’s Boring!
by James Coulter
What’s the worst type of movie to talk about? Surprisingly, it’s not bad movies. At least you can discuss why bad movies are bad. Sometimes, they’re so bad they’re good, and you can ridicule how absurdly bad they are. No. The worst type of movies are mediocre movies. Those movies are neither good or bad. They have absolutley nothing to say about them because nothing significant happens in them. That’s why they are the worst!
Lightyear is a mediocre movie. It is neither good nor bad. Rather, it is bland, uninspiring, and forgettable. As I write this review, it has been less than an hour since I watched the film in theaters, and I am struggling to recall anything specific about it to discuss. I am currently restraining myself from typing out the sentence, “Lightyear is boring, don’t see it!” over and over again like Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining. That’s how unremarkable this movie is.
Remember in the Toy Story movies how Buzz Lightyear was a toy based off of a space ranger character whose mission was to help Star Command defend the Galactic Alliance from the Evil Emperor Zurg? This movie is not about that character. Rather, it is a re-imagining of him. That’s fine. Problem is, this movie sells itself as being the film that Toy Story‘s Buzz Lightyear was based upon. It even says at the very beginning that Andy watched this movie back in 1995.
That’s a lie! The Buzz Lightyear character in this movie acts nothing like the toy from the Toy Story film. Lightyear looks like nothing that would have been shown in 1995. Even ignoring the enhanced computer graphics, the tone feels very much like a contemporary movie. These are two different versions of Buzz Lightyear. They are nothing alike. Which is fine. But the movie should not have marketed itself as being the one that Buzz Lightyear was based upon.
In this movie, Lightyear and his partner crash land on a remote planet. They and their team now have to mine the planet’s resources and create fuel for their ship. Buzz tries to test the fuel with a smaller ship but fails every time. Worse, because he is traveling at near light speed, time slows down for him so that four years pass when he returns to the planet. After several failed test flights, nearly 50 years have passed and his partner has passed away. Now he must work with her granddaughter and a rag tag team to complete their mission. Oh, and Zurg is also there!
This movie is boring. I have not much to say about it. The humor is unfunny. Every attempt at a joke falls flat. (The closest thing to a “funny” joke is a conversation about a sandwich made with bread between two slices of meat. Even that’s stretching the concept of a “joke”!) The action scenes carry no emotional weight. The characters other than Buzz Lightyear are bland archetypes with stock personalities. Even Buzz himself is lifeless and boring. Gone is the charismatic space ranger with an over-the-top personality. Instead, we have a bland cardboard cutout of a copy that feels more lifeless than an actual plastic toy.
The only thing spectacular or noteworthy about the movie is the third act twist, which is so absurdly dumb that, even though I don’t care about spoiling this mediocre mess of a movie, I don’t want to bother explaining. Let’s just say that Emperor Zurg turns out to be a surprise twist villian and, well, Buzz has met the enemy and it is him. (It’s as dumb as you think it is!)
As I write this review, Lightyear has been in theaters for one week, and it has flopped hard at the box office. Some people are blaming the movie’s poor performance allegedly on Disney’s “woke” agenda. Some say it’s because there’s a same-sex couple who share an on-screen kiss together. Others say it’s because Buzz’s original voice actor, Tim Allen, was replaced because of his “conservative” political views. No. This movie did not fail because it’s pushing a “gay” agenda, nor because Tim Allen was “cancelled” (despite getting his own made-for-streaming series on Disney Plus). No. This movie is bad because it is boring!
In short, do not watch this movie. Do not watch it in theaters. The only people who will like it are little kids who love Toy Story and who will be easily distracted by its wacky “shenanigans” and bright, flashing lights. Even then, do not take them to the theaters to watch this. Wait until it releases on Disney Plus or it becomes available to rent on DVD. If you must visit the cinema, watch a matinee showing. This movie is not worth the full price of admission. Needless to say, it does not go to infinity and beyond!
Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested registered career offender 39-year-old Jason Cherry of Lakeland for Robbery with a Mask (F1) today, Monday, June 27, 2022. He robbed the SouthState bank (4719 S, Florida Ave.) in Lakeland last Friday. Cherry is also being charged with previously robbing a bank in the city of Lakeland by the Lakeland Police Department.
On Friday, June 24, at around 10:40 a.m., a man entered SouthState bank and passed a note to one of the tellers demanding money. He told the teller he was armed. The suspect then took the money and fled the bank in a gray Honda Accord. No bank employees were injured and there were no customers in the bank at the time.
PCSO posted the robbery on social mediaand asked the community’s help to identify the robber. After seeing the PCSO social media post, a citizen contacted the agency with information about the suspect’s identity. Using this new information, detectives identified the robber as Jason Cherry and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Cherry was arrested this morning, Monday, June 27, at the Tiger Villa Motel (600 New Tampa Highway) in Lakeland. Detectives also located the gray Honda Accord Cherry used following the robbery.
“I am grateful to the citizen who saw something and said something. Because of your willingness to act and the fast work of our detectives, this convicted felon is off the streets. Thankfully no one was hurt, and he will now answer for his crime. Given his criminal history, let’s hope he spends plenty of time in Florida State Prison—enough is enough.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Cherry is currently being held in the Polk County Jail without bond. His prior criminal history includes 21 felonies and 10 misdemeanors for robbery, armed burglary, burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of a firearm, aggravated battery with a weapon, aggravated battery of a police officer, aggravated battery of detention staff, child abuse, grand theft, vehicle theft, battery, possession of marijuana, petit theft, and violation of probation. He has twice been incarcerated in state prison.
This investigation is on-going and additional charges are likely.
Cherry has additionally been charged by the Lakeland Police Department for Robbery with a Weapon (F1) and Written Threats to Kill (F2). Please direct inquires about those charges to the Lakeland Police Department.
