Winter Haven Fire Department
Congratulations Charlie Parr!
Retired from the Winter Haven FD after serving 30 dedicated years. The Department presented him with a New York style leather helmet with his personalized badge.
He also received a beautiful watch (that he picked out) from the City for his 30 years of service and presented a shadowbox with his badge by Public Safety Director Bird.
You’ll be missed Charlie but we are so happy for you.
The PCSO Traffic Unit investigated a two-vehicle crash with serious bodily injury last evening in Lakeland. Preliminary details are as follows:
Around 8:10 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, 2021, 48-year-old Johnnie Woods of Lakeland was driving his 1997 gold Nissan XE pickup truck eastbound on CR 540-A just east of Scott Lake Road while at the same time 38-year-old Mitchell Elliott of Lakeland was driving his 2012 black Honda Accord westbound.
Elliott proceeded into the center turn lane to turn into the shopping plaza on the south side of the roadway. Elliott then entered into the path of the Nissan truck. During the collision, airbags deployed in both vehicles. Elliott suffered life-threatening head injuries, and was transported from the scene as a trauma alert; he is in critical condition at a local hospital. Woods was taken to Bartow Regional Medical Center for minor injuries. It is unknown at this time if either driver was wearing a seat belt. Both drivers were the sole occupants of their vehicles. The investigation is ongoing. The roadway was closed for approximately three hours during the investigation.
Winter Haven Police Department
When trying to help a citizen out results in your vehicle being stolen…
Our victim went to the Twin Brothers store located on Lucerne Park Rd on April 15 when he left work.
Two men at the store asked him for a ride to the Inwood area. Declining to take them, one of the men left. Ultimately, our victim did give the man pictured below a ride to an area around 4th St NW and Quick Ave.
Before getting out of the car, the man asked our victim if he had $5 he could have. Our victim stated he would need to get change so they went to the Family Dollar Store.
Leaving the passenger in the vehicle along with the keys, our victim entered the store and immediately realized he shouldn’t have done that. As he walked back out of the store he saw the car leaving the parking lot.
The vehicle is pictured below. A red 2010 Chevy Cobalt. The letters L and T are missing from Cobalt leaving it to say “Co Ba”.
Anyone recognizing the guy pictured or knows where the vehicle is should call Det. Lozado at 863-595-1721.
Local Eighth Grader Hosting Third Annual Casting Lures For Cures
by James Coulter
Clayton Keene loves to fish. He also loves helping people out. So he combined both passions to start his bass fishing tournament, Casting Lures for Cures.
The third annual tournament will be hosted at Guy Harvey Camp Mack River Resort in Lake Wales on Sat., May 1. Check-in will begin at 5 am, and the event will conclude with the weigh-in at 2 pm. Entry fees are $20 for Big Bass and $60 for a two-man team. Raffles will also be held throughout the day.
Keene initially started the event as a school project. His humanities teacher wanted his class to think of a concept for a community project. Since Keene loved to fish, he wanted to create something that would combine his love of fishing with helping the community, which is how he started Casting Lures For Cures.
Proceeds from the event go toward the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization, which, according to its website, “dedicated to research and clinical trials to find less toxic, more effective treatments for childhood cancer.”
Keene decided to raise money for cancer awareness due to his close friend, James Brown, who had pediatric cancer as a child. When setting up his tournament three years ago, he sat down with Brown and discussed potential recipients for their proceeds. The two of them settled on the foundation.
He especially appreciates the organization for its own tournaments that it hosts. Even amidst these uncertain times, the foundation has proven creative by hosting a virtual fishing tournament, the Virtual All American Fishing Tournament. Such a dedicated organization that remains adamant about raising awareness is an excellent recipient, Keene said.
“I really wanted to help an organization that really needed help, and [that] also did a lot for the people,” he said. “That is why we chose the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, because they do so much for the people and their families. They really want to help the family and the kids, and they do a lot in the community as well.”
Over the past two years, since the tournament first started, the event has raised a total of $12,000. The turnout has also proven exceptional, with many people, including his own school, willing to attend year after year, Keene said.
“It was such a success the first year that we continued it each year,” he said. “They really do love to see that, the kids getting involved in the community, and that has made them happy. They wanted to keep doing it so it is not just a one-year project. That is the main thing. They are happy that I continued it.”
This year, Keene is expecting an exceptional turnout as always. Even amid these uncertain times, he knows that people will turn out to fish and assist for a good cause.
“I am really hoping for a big boater turnout,” he said. “On the Kissimmee Chain, the bass are starting to fire up, and that bite is starting to turn on, so there will be big bags to weigh in.”
The Third Annual Casting Lures For Cures will be hosted on Sat., May 1, from 5am to 2pm, at Camp Mack, located at 14900 Camp Mack Rd, Lake Wales, FL 33898. For more information, visit their website at: https://www.castingluresforcures.com/
Hundreds of Local Parents and Children Attend “Unmask Our Children Rally”
by James Coulter
Several children play outside and in the gym during P.E. They are required to wear masks as they run laps in the Florida heat. One boy is scolded for pulling his mask down from over his nose so he can breathe. As punishment, he is forced to run several more laps while wearing his mask.
These were some of the sights Hannah Petersen, a Lakeland mother, witnessed during a visit to her son’s school. She was astonished at how other students like her son were forced to wear masks even when outside. She took to Facebook to rally other like-minded parents and grow a movement to do away with mask mandates at local schools.
What started as a small, private Facebook group quickly grew to more than 9,600 members. While her Change.org page was taken by Change.org administrators, her movement gained enough momentum to culminate into a political rally on Tuesday evening.
Several hundred concerned parents and their children gathered outside the Polk County Public School Board, on the property at 4270 Wallace Road in Lakeland, to protest the city’s mask mandate. The group assembled between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. while school board members met during their regularly scheduled meeting.
Protesters, both young and old, carried homemade signs expressing their disapproval of the mask mandate. “This is the sign of tyranny,” one cardboard sign read with a mask taped below it.
Petersen was unable to attend the rally that evening due to illness. Many other administrators and members of her Facebook group took to the stage to speak out against their children being forced to wear masks in school.
“We have been going through this for 148 days,” said one mother, Jenna Sutton. “You all have been wearing this mask for 148 days to school. And you know what? It’s time. It is time. It has been 1,036 hours if you don’t ride a bus. That’s how many hours our children have been forced to cover their faces. That is enough. It’s enough.”
Sutton doubts the effectiveness of mask mandates to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Her children and others in the school system are overcoming adversity simply by wearing them, she alleged. If anything, making them wear masks could prove worse.
“We all know the five-second rule,” she said. “They are dropping them at lunch. They are stepping on them. And they are throwing them on their face so they don’t get in trouble. Enough is enough.”
Mike Musik, a city commission candidate, attended the rally to show his support. He compared face masks to Petri dishes. He did not believe that people, especially young children, should be forced to wear them for more than eight hours.
“You cannot let it stop right here,” he said. “You have to continue. I am willing to take a stand.”
For many attendees, the rally was more than simply being required to wear a piece of cloth over their face. They considered this issue to be the crux of a nationwide culture war, one in which the very fate of the country was at stake.
Steve Maxwell used his speech to introduce his new organization, the County Citizens Defending Freedom (CCDF). His organization would serve as an alliance with larger political organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Turning Points USA, to address local infringements on civil liberties.
Maxwell started the organization with his business partner. They both felt that their elected politicians did not have the backbone “to stand up for this country,” which is why they started CCDF.
He insisted that the mask mandate marked a divide between two Americas: one made of “real Americans” who believed in “real American values” such as those enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, and “Americans In-Name Only,” or AINOs, who remain complicit with “globalists” and “Big Tech” to “radically change” America.
“The fix is not coming from Washington DC: the fix starts right here,” he said. “Our nation finds itself in a battle that will determine the continuation or death of our liberties and freedoms that we hold dear…I believe this is the last hope. We the people are going to have to rise up. It will be uncomfortable. But remember one thing. We are not here to comfort the afflicted. We are here to afflict the comfortable. We are here to add accountability to our leaders.”
In early 2021, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated a joint investigation of a drug trafficking organization with ties to the Juarez Mexican Drug Cartel. The primary drug trafficking broker operated from a federal prison in Georgia.
The investigation began on January 14, 2021, when a parcel shipped from Quebec, Canada containing approximately 2,500 Xanax pills was intercepted by investigators. PCSO undercover detectives conducted a controlled delivery at Xerxes Avenue NW in Winter Haven and arrested 37-year-old Amber Cayson of Winter Haven. Also seized at the residence was 24 pounds of THC edibles, 2.4 pounds of marijuana, and a pound of methamphetamine.
As the investigation progressed, PCSO detectives learned of a suspected drug trafficker in Georgia, 37-year-old Brian Stanton, known as “Lil B,” who was arranging for the sale and delivery of methamphetamine in Polk County. Stanton is currently incarcerated in the United States Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta.
During the investigation, Stanton, from within the federal prison in Atlanta, coordinated and arranged with undercover detectives the purchase and delivery of approximately 26 pounds of methamphetamine from Georgia to Polk County, Florida.
On March 13, 2021, 43-year-old Jennifer Meers of Stone Mountain, Georgia delivered a suitcase with 12 large clear storage bags containing 26 pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover detective at a hotel in Lakeland. After the delivery, Meers, who is on federal probation for drug trafficking, left the hotel and returned to Georgia.
On March 19, 2021, Stanton, still from within the federal prison, arranged for another 35 pounds of methamphetamine to be delivered by Meers to PCSO undercover detectives.
On March 30, 2021, HSI and PCSO undercover detectives arranged to pick up the drugs from inside Meers’ personally owned truck near her place of employment in Atlanta. When they retrieved the narcotics from Meers’ truck, they found luggage with 16 vacuum sealed bags containing approximately 35 pounds of methamphetamine.
A short time later, Meers was arrested on a Polk County Sheriff’s Office warrant by the Sandy Springs Georgia Police Department during a traffic stop.
During an interview, Meers told detectives that Stanton coordinated the delivery of the methamphetamine and that he pays her $500 for every kilo (2.2 pounds) of methamphetamine she delivers.
Meers’ arrest led investigators to the location of 3 methamphetamine conversion labs in Georgia. HSI agents and local Georgia law enforcement officers served search warrants at 8 locations in Georgia, arrested 3, and seized 1,416 pounds of crystalized and liquid methamphetamine.
During their search of one of the illegal conversion labs located in College Park, Georgia, HSI agents and local law enforcement officers discovered and dismantled an illegal rooster fighting ring belonging to 59-year-old Isidoro Palacios.
HSI investigators have associated this illegal drug trafficking organization with the Juarez Mexican Cartel, a brutally violent cartel known for its targeted executions and violence.
“Some people still call this low-level, non-violent drugs. These drug dealers have blood on their hands. They make money off the misery of others. They use violence as a means to enforce their trafficking business. We seized 20 firearms during this investigation, including rifles, shotguns, handguns, and three stolen guns. Methamphetamine destroys lives, degrades communities, and ruins families. Through our partnership with Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies in Florida and Georgia, our detectives took a huge amount of meth off the street and shut down an active drug trafficker operating out of a federal prison.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Investigation Summary:
5 suspects arrested
1 federal inmate charged
20 firearms seized (3 were reported as stolen)
5 vehicles seized (1 was reported as a stolen vehicle)
Approximately 1500 pounds of methamphetamine seized (street value: approximately $53.8 million)
Approximately 24.8 pounds of THC edibles seized (street value: approximately $8,480)
Approximately 2.4 pounds of marijuana (street value: approximately $7,000)
Approximately 2,500 Xanax pills seized (street value: approximately $25,000)
TOTAL STREET VALUE: $53,854,640
Those arrested on Polk County charges are:
37-year-old Amber Cayson who resides at 3237 Xerxes Avenue NW, Winter Haven. Cayson is charged with:
Trafficking in methamphetamine (F1)
Possession of a structure for drug trafficking (F2)
Possession of Xanax with intent to sell (F3)
Possession of marijuana with intent to sell (F3)
Possession of marijuana over 20 grams (F3)
Possession of marijuana resin (edibles) (F3)
Possession of drug paraphernalia (M1)
Cayson is currently in the Polk County Jail with no bond. She was incarcerated in state prison in 2006, and her previous criminal history includes 16 felonies and 31 misdemeanors, to include charges of petit theft, forgery, fraud, possession methamphetamine, possession of Xanax possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license, and multiple probation violations.
43-year-old Jennifer Meers who resides at 467 Allana Court, Stone Mountain, Georgia. Meers is charged with:
Conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine (F1)
Trafficking in methamphetamine (F1)
Possessing a vehicle for drug trafficking (F2)
Unlawful use of a two-way communication device (F3)
Possession of drug paraphernalia (M1)
Meers was on federal probation for drug trafficking at the time of her arrest. She is currently in the Polk County Jail with no bond. Meers’ previous criminal history includes 22 arrests in Georgia to include charges of drug trafficking, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, DUI, battery, theft, fraud, giving a false name to a law enforcement officer, and multiple probation violations.
37-year-old Brian Stanton is currently incarcerated in the Atlanta US Penitentiary, Georgia. His current sentence runs through 2040. He is facing Polk County, Florida charges of:
Conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine (F1)
Trafficking in methamphetamine (F1)
Unlawful use of a two-way communication device (F3)
Stanton’s criminal history includes 26 arrests in Georgia to include charges of trafficking in methamphetamine, conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, threatening a law enforcement officer, furnishing alcohol to a minor, and numerous parole and probation violations.
Other related arrests:
30-year-old Crescencio Ornelas-Loza who resides in Fairburn, Georgia was arrested by the Henry County Police Department. He is in the United States illegally. Ornelas-Loza is charged with theft by receiving stolen property. His criminal history includes 4 arrests in Georgia. Three for driving without a valid license and one charge for theft by receiving stolen property.
50-year-old Luis Ornelas-Martinez was arrested by HSI agents and the Henry County Police Department at his residence located on 321 ASA Moseley Road in Stockbridge, Georgia. Ornelas-Martinez is in the United States illegally and is charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony. His criminal history includes 2 arrests in Georgia with charges of trafficking in cocaine, illegal drug possession, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and driving without a valid license.
59-year-old Isidoro Palacios was arrested at a methamphetamine lab located at 5359 Stonewall Tell Road in College Park, Georgia. HSI agents and South Fulton County Police Department arrested Palacios and seized 77 pounds of methamphetamine, a stolen vehicle, and a stolen shotgun. Palacios is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, theft by receiving stolen property, and animal cruelty (stemming from the illegal rooster fighting ring). He is currently in Fulton County Jail with a $100,000 bond. His criminal history includes 11 arrests in Georgia to include charges of DUI, trafficking in methamphetamine, willful obstruction of law enforcement, and driving without a license. Palacios has also been arrested in Florida three times for driving without a license.
Participating Law Enforcement Agencies:
Polk County Sheriff’s Office (FL)
State Attorney’s Office 10th Judicial Circuit (FL)
Department of Homeland Security Investigations – Atlanta
Department of Homeland Security Investigations – Tampa
Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons
US Customs and Border Protection – New York
US Border Patrol
Banks County Sheriff’s Office (GA)
Fayetteville Police Department (GA)
Forest Park Police Department (GA)
Haines City Police Department (FL)
Henry County Police Department (GA)
Sandy Springs Police Department (GA)
Snellville Police Department (GA)
South Fulton County Police Department (GA)
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (FL
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Department of Homeland Security Investigators from Tampa and Atlanta, and representatives from the Haines City Police Department and Georgia law enforcement agencies will discuss the investigation of a drug trafficking organization with Mexican drug cartel ties at 10:00 am today (Thursday, April 29, 2021) at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff’s Operations Center located at 1891 Jim Keene Blvd. in Winter Haven.
“Operation Dirty Water” is a joint investigation involving more than a dozen law enforcement agencies in Florida and Georgia. The investigation resulted in the largest volume of Methamphetamine seized during a joint investigation involving the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, including 1,416 pounds of crystalized and liquid methamphetamine. The street value of the drugs seized is over $50 million.
Updated Article Here: 37 Yr Old Winter Haven Woman The Tip Of The Iceberg In 53 Million Dollar Methamphetamine Bust
Local Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor Continues Legacy of the Gentle Art
By Allison Williams
Photos provided by Andrew Kinchen
Andrew Kinchen, a Polk County resident has been training for the past 14 years to reach his goal. He achieved his black belt in December of 2019 and is now a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Black Belt under Rafa Santos, Owner/Head Instructor of Carlson Gracie Winter Haven and Instructor at Carlson Gracie Lakeland.
“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a predominantly ground-based martial art, using the principals of leverage, angles, pressure and timing, as well as knowledge of the human anatomy, in order to achieve a non-violent submission of one’s opponent,” Kinchen explained. “Unlike other martial arts that focus on strikes and/or kicks, jiu jitsu focuses on close-contact ‘grappling’ holds and techniques, and the application of chokes and joint-manipulations.”
He adds, “The more obvious physical benefits of BJJ include incredible cardio workouts (burning upwards of 700-1000 calories in a one-hour class), self-defense, and conditioning for any kind of physical contact. Some of the less obvious benefits are mental threat assessment, confidence, and many times BJJ takes on a therapeutic effect. Many studies have been done on the effects of BJJ and how it helps with PTSD (an article was written on our Lakeland Location featuring our First Responders).”
Kinchen grew up locally and attended school in Frostproof. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Laura, and they have three children. Kinchen not only has his black belt, but he has also competed and medaled in several IBJJF Tournaments and local tournaments throughout the state.
He got involved with Carlson Gracie through his instructor, Rafa Santos who received his Black Belt from Ricardo De La Riva Black Belt who is one of the original Carlson Gracie Team members out of Brazil.
“We offer Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Striking, MMA, First Responder, women’s only classes and general fitness classes,” Kinchen said. “We have classes for students from four years old through adult age.”
Besides marrying his wife and having his children, Kinchen considers receiving his Black Belt one of the highlights of his life.
“The day I received my Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu marked the next step in 12 years of study of the Gentle Art and one of the greatest days of my life,” Kinchen said. “Throughout my journey training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I not only witnessed it change me for the positive but watched the people around me become more focused confident versions of themselves. I get to now help people who walk through our doors unlock a part of themselves that they never knew existed.”
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) helps people find the potential they have inside.
“BJJ allows anyone to understand the true potential within them whether it be for Self Defense, Competition training or general fitness,” Kinchen said. “Joining a BJJ school brings you into a family of martial artists that all unite under the commonality of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In addition to Andrew the Carlson Gracie Coaching Staff consists of Rafa Santos (Owner of Carlson Gracie Lakeland), Melvin Thompson (Black Belt Instructor), James Bennett (Black Belt Instructor and Founder of Central Florida MMA), Derek Walker (Kids Instructor) and Zac Kluytenaar (Professional MMA Fighter and Instructor), we offer the most diverse Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instruction available in our area. Our students are not only members of our local Gym but part of a family that not only includes schools in Lakeland (Rafa Santos) and Plant City (Sam Kimmel), but schools throughout the world.
To learn more, visit http://www.cgwinterhaven.com/ or call (863) 210-8728
Carlson Gracie is located at:
622 Ave O SW
Winter Haven, FL 33880
Facebook: Carlson Gracie Winter Haven
Winter Haven kicks U12 competitive girls advanced to the State Cup semi-finals on Sat April 24th where they had a victory of 7-1 over their opponent advancing them to finals Sunday April 25th at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. WH kicks U12 girls were finalst on Sunday as they were defeated 3-0 by Boca in the final. There are two hundred teams in the state in this age group and they were one of the two teams that advance to the state finals. What a great accomplishment!
WH Kicks U12G team finished their season 2nd place in the USA league, Champions in the 2021 Commissioners Cup, and Finalst in the 2021 State Cup.
They have had an amazing season, very hardworking talented group of young athletes!
Since our very first regular season game on October 20th 2019 we’ve out scored our opponents 182-58. Pretty dang impressive.
Submitted by Coach Karen Bingham
Rally Starts today at 4:30 PM at 4270 Wallace Rd Lakeland.
We will bring you information from the event as it becomes available.
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