Loughman, Florida – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed they are investigating a shooting which took place Sunday evening in the North East corner of Polk County. According to the PCSO public information officer the shooting was domestic in nature. The PIO advised it appears the person shot was the aggressor.
The Polk County Fire Rescue set up a landing zone at the new Publix parking lot at the intersection of Ronald Reagan and Hwy 17/92 around 9:30pm.
The sheriff’s office advised no additional information is available at this time and the incident is still under investigation. No current danger to the public.
Lake Wales High School Sophomore Wins State Swimming Championship
by James Coulter
Mary Leigh Hardman, 16, has been swimming ever since she could first remember. Her mother, an Olympic-calibercompetitive swimmer, inspired her to go for the gold. Now this 16-year-old sophomore from Lake Wales High School has won the state championship for two consecutive years.
Mary Leigh returned home after winning first place at the state swimming championship at the Sail Fish Water Park in Stuart, FL. She had been participating in the championship for the past two years. Her freshmen year, she won both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle. This year, she won the 50 by .01 second but lost the 100 by .1 second.
“I had pretty high expectations, and that was that,” she said. “It went pretty well.”
Mary Leigh first learned to swim at age five and has been competing year-round ever since. She was inspired by her mother, Molly Hardman, who won the state championship her senior year in 1988, swam at Clemson University and the University of Florida, and even participated in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic trials.
“She got me interested at a young age,” Mary Leigh said. “Ever since I started swimming, I took it seriously. When you are a kid, you [are not] necessarily taking things very seriously in general. But I see improvement around 11 or 12. At that point, I just really saw a lot of improvement in my swimming.”
Her mother, Molly, owes her success to striking a balance between school and swimming. Mary Leigh works hard at what she does. While she may not appear so in her everyday demeanor, she remains competitive with her nose to the grind; and even when she loses, she remains gracious about her losses and gracious for the success of others, Mary said.
“You will be the most successful happy athlete if you strike the balance and so she does and it is so fun to see her do so well,” Molly said. “She knows how to, when it is important, she knows how to step up onto the block and rise to the occasion. She is a strong competitor. You would never know talking to her, because that is not the demeanor that she lives and it is not her personality, but when she gets on the block, it is all her business.”
Aside from her school’s swim team, she is a club swimmer who attends a separate swim club. Practicing year-round allows her to maintain her athletic prowess, which peaks around springtime and especially around the time of the annual state championship.
She owes her success to her fellow teammates and her school and club coaches. The support and encouragement she receives from them inspires her to keep moving forward and to improve her game. Her school has especially proven supportive in her athletic endeavors.
“I have been working and toiling with my high school team for a few months, trying to work myself up to that season,” she said. ” They are phenomenal. Everyone is supporting me in everything. My high school is very supportive of my accomplishments. Every time I would win something or do well, they would announce it on the announcements. So, I think that is very nice and encouraging of them.”
Her mother has high expectations of her moving forward. Mary Leigh already had surprising success with her competition last year, and that surprise motivated her to keep up her good work in this year’s event and in future endeavors.
“I would say having the experience of her winning her freshman year, and being completely surprised she did that, she had experience going into this year’s state meet and what it takes to win again, so I will attribute it to her work ethic and competitive nature, just really wanting to do her best,” Molly said.
Mary Leigh expects to continue competing in the state swimming championship well through high school. She expects to continue swimming in college, though she remains undecided at this moment what her college plans will be. Until then, she plans on keeping her nose to the water and striving to go for the gold.
“Whatever happens will happen,” she said. “I will try my best and no matter what if I try my hardest then that is the best I can do. I love to win again, but it is always nice to give someone else a chance to see what happens. It would be great to win it again.”
Auburndale Police Department Investigating Fatal Crash Involving a Child Pedestrian
At approximately 6:24 a.m. on Wednesday,
January 5, 2022, the Auburndale Police Department began an investigation of a
vehicle vs. pedestrian crash that occurred within the intersection of U.S.
Highway 92 and Havendale Blvd. The crash resulted in the death of a
six-year-old child.
The preliminary investigation
has determined that the child was in the median of Havendale Blvd. where it
intersects with U.S. 92 and ran north from the median attempting to cross U.S.
92, and was struck by the right front bumper and headlight area of a Ford F150
pick-up truck that was traveling eastbound in the outside lane. The child
suffered immediate fatal injuries.
The driver was unaware that he
had struck a pedestrian and continued to the area of Lake Alfred where another
driver alerted him that he had struck a person. He immediately returned to the
scene and was fully cooperative with the investigation. There were no
indications he was impaired.
At the time of the crash, it
was still dark, and the intersection is illuminated by street lighting. An Auburndale
police officer was on-scene immediately. While the investigation was underway,
the child’s father arrived at the scene and was notified. The child was a
student at Auburndale Central Elementary and the Polk County School Board and
the elementary school administrators have been notified of the student’s death.
We are still investigating to
determine why the child was alone in that location at that time of the morning
and this investigation is still active.
Updates will
be provided as they become available.
The next PCSO Concealed Weapons Permit Course is scheduled for Saturday, January 22, 2022, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and if the morning classes fill up, a second class will be offered from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. each day.
This is the class required by the FL Dept of Agriculture as part of an application to obtain a concealed weapons permit.
YOU MUST CALL 863-298-6242, during normal business hours (Mon-Fri, 8-5) to reserve your seat. When you call, you will be given further instruction about where to go for the training.*
Cost of the class is $45; proceeds go to Polk Sheriff’s Charities, Inc., and the cost is non-refundable.
Students shall not wear loose hanging clothing and shall wear close-toed shoes.
Each student will be required to provide the following:
1- A modern manufacture firearm* capable of using modern ammunition.
2- 50 rounds of clean modern manufacture ammunition.
3- Modern manufacture protective eye-wear designed for a shooting environment.
4- Modern manufacture hearing protection designed for a shooting environment.
5- Adequate sun protection. (i.e. hat, long-sleeved shirt, sunscreen)
6- Adequate hydration for extended outdoor activity.
The class will start on time. Students arriving late will be asked to reschedule for a later class.
Any questions about the CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, please call Sergeant Hersey or Sergeant Russo at the PCSO Training Section at 863-534-7200, during normal office hours.
NEXT CLASS – January 22, 2022 – CALL 863-298-6242 to reserve your spot!
*we will have handguns available for the hands-on portion of the course, but we prefer you bring your own if possible.
Please visit our event calendar on our website for all dates of all classes: http://www.polksheriff.org/events
Traffic Homicide
detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested an Auburndale man on
Friday, December 31, 2021, following the conclusion of their fatal crash
investigation which started nearly five months prior.
26-year old Sergio
Ramirez-Padilla was arrested at his
home and charged with DUI Manslaughter (F2), Driving While License
Suspended/Revoked Resulting in Death (F3), and DUI Causing Property Damage
(2-counts, M1).
The crash occurred on
August 2, 2021 on K-Ville Avenue, east of Rowell Street in the unincorporated
area of Auburndale.
The investigation
showed that Ramirez-Padilla’s Ford Explorer crossed over the center line and
struck a 2008 Chevy Malibu head-on.
The driver of the
Malibu was 33-year old Sean Rhodan of Lakeland. Mr. Rhodan died from his
injuries after he was taken to an area hospital.
Ramirez-Padilla also
sustained some non-life threatening injuries in the crash.
A third vehicle was
involved in the crash when it struck debris from the other two vehicles, but
there were no injuries to its occupants.
During
Ramirez-Padilla’s treatment at the hospital immediately after the crash,
blood-samples were taken. Those samples were tested—and these results were
recently received by traffic homicide detectives and revealed that
Ramirez-Padilla’s Blood-Alcohol Content (BAC) was 0.142 g/dL (grams per
deciliter). The legal threshold is 0.08 g/dL.
“This arrest obviously
won’t bring back the victim; his family is still dealing with a great loss. But
I’m pleased that our detectives have completed a thorough investigation so that
the man responsible can be brought to justice. This is a sad reminder of what
can happen when people choose to drive while impaired.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
During his first
appearance hearing, Ramirez-Padilla was assigned a total bond of $16,000.
He was released from
the Polk County Jail on January 2, 2021 after posting bond.
The PCSO Traffic Unit Investigated a Two-Vehicle Crash on Sunday, January 2, 2022 in Unincorporated Lake Wales, Involving One Fatality
Around 4:23 p.m. the ECC received a 911 call about the
crash, which occurred on State Road 60 East near Silvio Road. Upon arrival of
first responders, 34-year-old Amanda Shryock of Eustis was found deceased
inside her blue 2017 Toyota Camry. She was the sole occupant. The other driver,
63-year-old Terrance Reaves, was treated and released from a local hospital. He
was also the sole occupant.
According to the evidence and witnesses, Shryock was exiting
a driveway from the North Walk-In-Water Creek Park on the north side of SR 60
and attempting to cross both westbound lanes to go into the median between WB
and EB when she entered into the path of Reaves’ gray 2016 BMW 740i as he was
traveling west. Reaves was unable to avoid striking the Camry.
There did not appear to be any signs of impairment on Reaves’ part, and impairment and excessive speed by Shryock are being investigated. The roadway was closed for approximately three hours during the investigation, which is ongoing.
Over the next few days, we anticipate an increase in calls for service related to fireworks and firearms.
We have a HUGE favor to ask. Please, please do not dial 911 if you hear fireworks during this holiday weekend. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office 911 line is intended for residents to report immediate emergencies, not to report the use of fireworks. For those who may not know, a Florida law passed in 2018 states that shooting fireworks is not a state crime on the following days: Dec. 31, Jan. 1, and July 4.
We are also begging you, please PLEASE do not shoot guns into the air because you either A. love guns and want to celebrate by shooting them into the air or B. forgot to go out and buy fireworks. We all know about gravity (our third grade teachers covered it, right?). What Goes Up Must Come Down. Period. Not only that, it’s illegal to discharge a firearm in a residential area.
Last favor: please don’t drive impaired. This is a no-brainer. Get a ride, or stay home.
If you need us, call us – but please only call 911 if there is an immediate safety issue, a fire, an in-progress crime, or an injured person. For all other non-emergency calls, please call 863-298-6200. We will always answer the call.
If we all do our part, we can all have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve celebration. Be safe, everyone. Love, your favorite guys ‘n gals in green.
Davenport woman killed Wednesday in
Winter Haven crash
Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter
Haven was closed for approximately three hours Wednesday morning, December 29,
2021, due to a fatal two-vehicle crash near Crystal’s Boulevard.
Deputies from the Polk County
Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash at around 7:46 AM, along with Polk
County Fire Rescue.
31-year old Jacqueline Padilla of Davenport
was found with severe head trauma and transported to the hospital, but
succumbed to her injuries a short time later.
Another person involved in the crash,
28-year old Shraddha Patel of Winter Haven, was not injured.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Traffic Homicide Unit assumed control of the investigation and found that Ms.
Padilla was the driver of black 2009 Ford Escape, and Ms. Patel was the driver
of a white 2017 Nissan Altima.
Collection of evidence, video, and
witness statements helped detectives determine that Ms. Padilla’s Ford had been
travelling east on Cypress Gardens Boulevard and Ms. Patel’s Nissan had been
heading west.
In the area where Cypress Gardens
Boulevard intersects with Crystal’s Boulevard, Ms. Patel performed a U-Turn,
and while doing so, the Ford and Nissan made contact which caused the Ford to
enter the median where it overturned several times.
Ms. Padilla was not wearing her seat
belt, and the force of the vehicle rolling caused her to be ejected from her
vehicle. She landed on the roadway and suffered serious injuries.
Ms. Patel had been wearing her
seatbelt and was not injured.
Four-Vehicle Crash in East Polk Leads to Four Dead
Three people were killed at the scene of a four-vehicle
crash Monday afternoon, December 27, 2021, and a fourth person passed away
later that evening from his injuries.
The crash occurred at about 12:02 PM on Lake Hatchineha
Road, south of Poinciana, just east of Watkins Road.
Detectives have determined that 35-year old Riquelme
Villar-Villalona of Poinciana caused the crash resulting in his death and three
others. According to evidence and witness statements collected after the crash,
Villar-Villalona’s black 2019 Mazda CX-5 was driving west at a high-rate of
speed and struck a black 2016 Ford F-150, also travelling west, in the left,
rear quarter-panel and tire. The impact caused the Ford to enter the eastbound
lane.
Detectives believe that the Ford then made impact with an
eastbound silver 2021 Toyota Tacoma.
After striking the Ford, the Mazda is believed to have
gone airborne then struck a gray 2020 Ford Escape, which had been travelling
eastbound.
The roof of the Mazda was torn from the car, and
Villar-Villalona was ejected and instantly killed.
The 38-year old male driver and a 73-year old female
passenger in the Ford Escape were also killed at the scene. The 48-year old
male driver of the Toyota Tacoma was transported to a local hospital and passed
away from his injuries later that evening.
The other victims and their injuries are as follows:
F-150: 67-year-old female driver, 3-year-old female
passenger, 16-year-old female passenger, and 41-year-old female passenger not
injured;
Escape: 49-year-old female passenger critical but stable
in the hospital; 77-year-old male passenger stable in the hospital;
Tacoma: 19-year-old female passenger treated and
released.
Villar-Villalona’s high speed likely resulted from his fleeing the scene where he physically battered and allegedly kidnapped his girlfriend, which was reported at about 11:43 AM. The 9-1-1 caller told emergency personnel in the Emergency Communications Center that a man (later determined to be Villar-Villalona) was beating up a woman and forced her into a black Mazda. The caller told the telecommunicator that “if you do not stop them I believe he’s gonna kill her I am dead serious Please have someone stop that vehicle she was bleeding.” He said the vehicle was headed away from the area on Marigold Avenue.
Detectives responded to a residence in the area of Pine
Street and Mackerel Road to investigate the abduction and assault. Detectives
later determined that the victim of the assault and abduction (girlfriend) was
dropped off on Naples Court, Kissimmee, FL and was then transported to
Poinciana Medical Center. She was treated for injuries including a laceration
to the face.
Detectives attempted to get information from the victim,
but she was uncooperative. They were able to find out that the suspect was her
boyfriend.
At approximately 11:58 AM, a PCSO patrol deputy spotted a
vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description (Black Mazda, aggravated
battery and possible abduction suspect) on Marigold Avenue and attempted a
traffic stop, but the vehicle sped away south swerving into the wrong lane of
travel. The deputy deactivated his emergency equipment, did not pursue the
vehicle, but continued driving in the same direction monitoring his radio for
additional information.
Villar-Villalona would then turn west off of Marigold
onto Lake Hatchineha Road, where he later struck the 2016 Ford F-150 which
caused the crash. The deputy who attempted the traffic stop later came upon the
crash, reported it, and began rendering aid to the crash victims.
“Had Villar-Villalona survived the crash, he would
have been charged with abduction and aggravated battery charges for the first
event, and numerous charges for the crash, the worst of which being three
counts of vehicular homicide.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Kick the new year off on the right foot! Registration is open for Polk County Parks & Recreation’s The Hunt for Sasquatch 10K, 5K, 1 mile fun run. The courses will wind through the trails of Bone Valley ATV Park and consist of uneven terrain, small hills and possible sasquatch sightings.
Register Here:
https://bit.ly/22-Sasqutach
The Hunt for Sasquatch
Date: Sat. Feb., 5, 2022
Location: Bone Valley ATV Park (10427 County Road 630 W., Mulberry, FL 33860)
