Polk County Sheriff’s Office Traffic deputies investigated a two-vehicle crash last evening in Poinciana, involving a Mitsubishi SUV and a Suzuki motorcycle, during which the motorcyclist was killed. Preliminary information is as follows:
Around 9:15 p.m. on Monday, December 21, 2020, 40-year-old Hector Rafael Nin, Jr. of Kissimmee, was traveling eastbound on the Cypress Parkway on his motorcycle. As he approached the area where there is a fire station (at 1201 Cypress Pkwy) he was struck by the SUV being driven westbound in the eastbound lane by 23-year-old Rodre Hamilton of Kissimmee.
Hamilton was in the process of passing another westbound vehicle when he struck Nin. The Polk County Fire Rescue personnel and one deputy sheriff who were at the fire station when the crash occurred immediately responded to render aid, but Nin was deceased. Hamilton was not injured, and remained on-scene.
It is apparent that Nin was wearing his helmet, and it came off during the crash. Cypress Parkway in the area was shut down in both directions for approximately 3.5 hours. The investigation is ongoing.
Duo wearing pink pilfer more than $400 worth of Jamaican Rum and Cognac from Walmart.
On 12-15-20, the pair in pink go to the Walmart Liquor Store and proceed to load up. The older woman actually leaves and returns to fill up more. They were seen leaving in a 2005 dark gray/black Chevy Impala. Recognize them? Call Detective Hebson at 863-401-2256. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). Callers are guaranteed anonymity and could be eligible for a CASH reward.
Switching it up a bit. Walking out of Walmart with more than $725 worth of items with no attempt to pay – and got busted! 42 year-old Tavarus Cotton did just that at Walmart (355 Cypress Gardens Blvd) on Dec. 19. He concealed items in his pockets and filled a cart full of items. (By the way, this is his third shoplifting arrest) Although we do actually make shoplifting arrests almost daily, this one needed to be highlighted due to the amount. Can you say wow?
Sheriff Grady Judd will brief the media at 10:30 a.m. this morning, Friday, December 18, 2020, at the PCSO Sheriff’s Operations Center (1891 Jim Keene Blvd in Winter Haven) about 8 suspects statewide who have been identified and charged during an investigation that started in August of 2019, responsible for the theft and illegal re-sale of high-dollar items such as baby formula, diapers, and energy drinks, resulting in felony charges of grand theft and racketeering, among other crimes.
Detectives worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, Ashley Moody, Attorney General.
The total estimated loss to retailers is $84,669, of which $10,520 occurred in Polk County. The victims are Publix, Winn Dixie, and Walmart – in 18 different counties, and 10 different judicial circuits.
“This is the second group of retail thieves brought to justice by Sheriff Judd’s Deputies and my Statewide Prosecutors this month. Criminals be warned: We will not allow rampant retail theft to harm Florida businesses and force consumers to pay inflated prices to cover the costs of your indolent, unscrupulous crime sprees. These businesses have to build into their budgets projected losses to organized crime rings and shoplifters. Inevitably, those losses get passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices at the cash register. When crime rings, like this one, steal from retailers, they are essentially stealing from all Floridians.” – Ashley Moody, Attorney General
On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, five of the suspects were arrested in Hillsborough County and booked into the HCSO jail. One suspect was arrested in Orlando and booked into the Orange County Department of Corrections facility. On Thursday, December 17th, one suspect turned herself in, in Polk County, and is in the Polk County Jail. The last suspect is still at large and she has a Polk County warrant for her arrest.
Winter Haven Police Department This guy has confidence he won’t get caught. Let’s prove him wrong! The guy in the video entered the parking garage at Tupelo Vue Apartments (525 Ave H NW) on Dec. 8, 2020 around 6 a.m. and started checking door handles. Ultimately, he found two vehicles unlocked and proceeded to take items from the interior as well as the trunks. He takes his time and ends up needed to make three trips to take the items to wherever he will ultimately leave with them. Our victims lost electronics and tools along with a Jordan brand backpack. The images of the subject are not clear, but someone may recognize his clothing or his walk. He was wearing a jacket with a hoodie, a ball cap, basketball shorts and sneakers with no socks. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Detective Maldonado at 863-291-5676. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). Callers are guaranteed anonymity and could be eligible for a CASH reward.
Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (H.I.D.T.A) Task Force and members of Homeland Security Investigations (H.S.I) Tampa Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection developed information that 47-year-old Maria Rocio Gordillo of Lake Wales was involved in the trafficking of methamphetamine. The investigation is a follow-up from the ongoing “Operation Meth Death Peddlers” investigation where 44 suspects were arrested and 50 pounds of methamphetamine was seized in 2018 and 2019, culminating in numerous arrests in April of 2019. See the Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release here: https://tinyurl.com/y9j7pcxg. Gordillo was the live in spouse of Otoniel Valdez-Mendoza, one of those arrested for conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine during Operation Meth Death Peddlers. He is currently being held on no bond in the Polk County Jail. “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.” Grady Judd, Sheriff Undercover detectives communicated with Gordillo and arranged two separate methamphetamine transactions. The first transaction occurred on December 3rd; detectives purchased a kilogram of methamphetamine (2.2 pounds) from Gordillo at her residence located at 255 Waverly Loop, Lake Wales. The 2nd transaction occurred on December 9th at her residence. Gordillo gave the detectives three, one gallon sized bags that contained a crystal like substance—a total of about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) that tested positive for methamphetamine. Detectives also seized $4,100 U.S currency. Detectives took Gordillo into custody and she was booked into the Polk County Jail on December 9th. She is being held on $71,000 bond. She is charged with 2 counts each of: Trafficking in Methamphetamine; 893.135 (1)(F)1; F1 Possession of a structure/conveyance used to traffic a controlled substance; 893.1351(2); F2Possession of drug paraphernalia; 893.147 (1); M1
Tornado Warning from WED 5:02 PM EST until WED 5:30 PM EST
Action Recommended
Take shelter in place or per instructions
Issued By
Tampa Bay/Ruskin – FL, US, National Weather Service
Affected Area
Polk County
Description
The National Weather Service in Ruskin has issued a Tornado Warning for… Northwestern Polk County in central Florida… Northeastern Hillsborough County in west central Florida… Until 530 PM EST. At 501 PM EST, a tornado producing storm was located north of Plant City, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD…Damaging tornado. SOURCE…Radar confirmed tornado. IMPACT…Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely. This tornadic storm will be near… Combee Settlement around 520 PM EST. Lakeland around 525 PM EST. Fussels Corner around 530 PM EST. Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include Kathleen, Gibsonia, Polk City and Winston. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… To repeat, a tornado is on the ground. TAKE COVER NOW! Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW! TORNADO…OBSERVED; HAIL…0.00IN
Over the weekend several news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the Washington Post reported that Cyber Security Intrusions were detected across the globe.
The Cyber Incident appears to be the result of hackers who
are believed to be working for foreign governments. These Cyber Criminals were
able to breach the software provider SolarWinds by obtaining ftp credentials
that were exposed publicly on GitHub. SolarWinds is a company known for monitoring,
managing and maintaining core network infrastructure equipment.
Once inside SolarWinds ftp network the Cybercriminal’s deployed malware-laced software updates that infected its Orion software platform. These updates were pushed to users around the globe. Some of these entities include several US Government Networks, Fortune 500 companies, as well as small and medium businesses who use their product.
The infected Orion software updates were laced with malware
that dropped Command and Control agents. This allowed attackers to use the
machines as pivot points to move laterally throughout the victim’s network.
Now the interesting thing here is the fact that Cyber
Criminals were able to silently launch their attacks and potentially setup CNC
(Command and Control) machines on victim’s networks undetected. Industry
research has shown that, on average, advanced attacks nest inside organizations
for 200 days before discovery. That’s a long time for an attacker to stealthily
gather private data, monitor communications and map the network.
According to an analysis reported by Tenable the backdoor
malware resides in a dynamic-link library (DLL) file name
SolarWinds.Orion.Core.BusinessLayer.dll. The file was digitally signed by
SolarWinds with a valid certificate on March 24, meaning it would be trusted by
the underlying operating system and would not raise any alarms.
The backdoored DLL file was seeded as part of SolarWinds
software builds between March and June 2020, which are accessible via the
SolarWinds website. Once an organization installed the malicious software
update, the backdoored DLL file would remain in hibernation for a period of two
weeks before beginning its operation. This is one of the stealthy elements of
this operation. FireEye says in its blog post that the backdoor also managed to
“blend in with legitimate SolarWinds activity” in order to evade
detection.
What makes this even more interesting is the fact that this malware Sunburst, has been in the wild for approximately 9 months before being detected. For many this is scary to think about as many companies have probably had their systems compromised or data ex-filtrated from their environment without ever knowing it. More than likely there is other malware in organizations systems that are ready to launch an attack in the future.
Now is an opportune time to evaluate your network environment and get a health check on where you stand with Obsolete OS’s, Software patching, and most of all dig into SIEM logs and determine what core infrastructure systems are calling out to the internet and why. One way to get an accurate health check is to have a pen test conducted against your environment. A Pen Test is conducted by a white hat hacker that uses a variety of tools to try and gain access to your vital computer systems. Once the pen test is completed by the white hat hacker you will be provided a report that shows what systems are vulnerable to an attack, how an attack could be launched against your organization, and ultimately steps or actions you can take to mitigate your risks.
If you or your organization would like to discuss options to
evaluate, test, or discuss what your organization can do to protect it against
a Cyber Security attack please reach out so we can setup a meeting with one of
our Cyber Security Experts to review options.
You can reach me at [email protected] or call 863-734-8060
to schedule your appointment.
Kip Kirchberg is an International Cyber Security Expert who
has experience building World Class Cyber Security Teams. His experience has
been leveraged by Multiple Fortune 500 organizations to help build, tune, and
enhance their Cyber Security Posture.
Experience includes but is not limited to
Building SIEM platforms, Endpoint Security, 3rd Party Remote Access, Industrial
Control System’s, NextGen Firewall’s, Threat Hunting to Identify Cyber Security
Risks, Generating Executive Reports that lead to actionable data, Build and
maintain Incident Response Team’s, Draft and Adopt Corporate Cyber Security
Governance, Internal and External Pen Testing, Team Building, plus much more…
You can take an important step in protecting yourself from criminals. Those packages that you have can show criminals just what you receive for Christmas. Don’t leave the boxes by the curb.
Take an extra step to protect yourself and utilize one of the temporary recycling locations that have been set up. They will be open starting on Christmas eve.
iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida Celebrates Grand Opening with Ribbon Cutting
by James Coulter
Are you looking to plan your next vacation in Central Florida? Would you prefer staying in your own house rather than settling for a hotel room? Or are you a property owner in Central Florida looking to rent out your property to potential renters? Then consider iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida.
iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida is a full-service short-term rental property management and marketing company. They recently expanded their business to Central Florida with their new facility in Lakeland.
As a full-service property management company, they handle all the short-term rental booking for renters seeking to rent a property for their next big stay in Central Florida, whether it’s for a few nights or weeks or months.
From checking in and out to taking care of the property owner through light maintenance, iTrip Vacations benefits both renter and property owner alike, ensuring that everyone receives the best out of their experience.
“We leverage iTripVacation dynamic marketing platform, so we market globally, but we own locally and list our properties on 80-plus distribution channels, and this translates to increased revenues and conversion rates that are 5x industry standards,” explained owner Charles Gauthier. “Lakeland is one of the cities where we are expanding. We are excited to be part of the community and help homeowners that want to do short term rentals increase their revenues.”
Charles purchased the franchise with his wife, Kim. Through their company, they cover most of the area in Central Florida, including Winter Haven and Lakeland, as well as Brandon, Dade City, Land O’Lakes, Wesley Chapel, and Zephyrhills.
When it comes to having their rental property managed, there are three reasons why property owners choose iTrip, as Charles explains:
1) More Money. iTrip specializes in increasing revenue for their property owners. They can increase their revenue up to 25 percent after their properties are listed on the marketing platform for 12 months, Charles said.
2) More Time. As a full-service short-term rental property management company, iTrip ensures that property owners, especially those who live in Lakeland, can rely on the company to take care of their home and get their time back to doing the things they love.
3) More Attention. As property owners themselves, Kim and Charles both have short-term rental experience and want to provide the best personal boutique level of quality service to the property owners under them and their guests.
“We know what it is like to have our home taken care of, and we want to do the same thing in Lakeland with property owners and provide them with a boutique level of service,” Charles said.
“The key is that we don’t own property: we manage property,” he further elaborated. “We provide that full-service short-termrental property management to our property owners, and so we are looking for property owners who want to leverage our marketing platform while enjoying our personal service for their home.”
As for renters, even during these uncertain times—in fact, primarily because of these uncertain times!—they are considering renting properties as opposed to only booking a hotel room, as they consider the experience more clean and safe, Kim said.
“Right now, during COVID-19, we are finding that this market is expanding just because people want to stay in a private home and not necessarily be in a hotel,” she said. “They are finding it is a lot more comforting and gives them the option to spend their time with family together in one place.”
iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida celebrated their grand opening last Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. They now plan to reach out to real estate agents.
“Since we don’t sell real estate, it’s important for us to have top quality agents to work with when our clients want to sell or buy,” Kim said.
“Our expectation is to grow into Lakeland, to offer that boutique level of service and provide special attention to property owners, and to help property owners in Lakeland increase their revenue because that is what we specialize in,” Charles said.
