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ABC Article Says Toxic Sludge Headed To Polk County

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ABC Article Says Toxic Sludge Headed To Polk County

Article From ABC Action News

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The truckloads of toxic sludge that has been removed from a contaminated site in Dunbar now has a closer destination in state.

The sludge had been en route to a cement plant in Theodore, Alabama via dump truck, but that plan was nixed this week due to practical reasons.

The company that’s transporting the sludge confirms that there are now plans to instead ship the material to a site in Mulberry in Polk County, Florida run by Clark Environmental. Read Complete Article Here: Toxic sludge from Fort Myers now headed to Polk County

Jury Scams Are On The Rise In Polk County – Don’t Pay Any Money

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Jury Scams Are On The Rise In Polk County – Don’t Pay Any Money

Polk County Clerk Of Courts Press Release

Bartow, Fla. – Polk County Clerk of Courts Stacy Butterfield is warning residents that jury duty scams are once again targeting Polk County.

The scams usually come as either a fraudulent email or telephone call. Scammers typically impersonate Clerk employees, law enforcement or other government officials. They state the intended victim missed jury duty and must pay money or provide private information to avoid arrest.

Important tips to remember:

Jury summons are sent by mail, never by email.
The Clerk’s office does not call or email residents to request payment for missing jury duty. The office will also never demand payment via any sort of prepaid debit card or voucher.
The Clerk of Courts does not call or email residents to verify information related to jury duty or to notify them that they missed jury duty. Communications are only sent by mail.
If a resident misses jury duty, the individual receives a failure to appear notice in the mail from Chief Judge Jacobsen, Tenth Judicial Circuit.
Arrest warrants are not issued for failure to report for jury duty.
Do not open an email attachment from an unfamiliar source, and never provide personal information to an unfamiliar source, either by phone or email.
Residents can check if they’ve been called for jury duty online using the Jury Application System at www.polkcountyclerk.net/jury-duty.
Residents can contact the Clerk’s Jury Department directly at 863-534-4568 or 863-534-4569.

“Sadly, scams continue to target our community and play-off people’s intimidation of law enforcement and the court system,” Clerk Butterfield said. “Please don’t be intimidated and don’t fall for these scams. Scrutinize every inquiry, no matter what agency it alleges to come from. Hang up or delete a message immediately if there’s suspicion of fraud, and contact the organization through its official phone number to verify the communication. Please notify your neighbors, friends, families and especially the elderly that scams have increased in our community.”

If residents encounter scams, they should write down as much information about the encounter as possible, and contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.

Dundee woman arrested for inciting a fight between two juveniles

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Dundee woman arrested for inciting a fight between two juveniles

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 36-year-old Giselle Reyes Felix on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 for her instigating a fight between two juveniles on November 29, 2018.

Reyes Felix, of Dundee, was charged with Child Abuse (F3) and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (M1), and taken to the Polk County Jail.

“Our adult suspect was supposed to be responsible for the 16-year-old girl. Instead, she not only drove the girl to the victim, but she also incited and encouraged a fight, and coached the girl on how to hit the victim. This was totally irresponsible.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff.

According to the affidavit, Reyes Felix drove a 16-year-old girl to the area of where a 17-year-old girl (Kissimmee/Polk area) lived, because of problems between the two juveniles.

The 17-year-old victim was walking home from school when she heard a car horn and saw a car quickly approaching her. The 16-year-old suspect yelled at the victim and then attacked her.

While the two girls were fighting, Reyes Felix was coaching the suspect on what to do. When the victim fell on her back, the 16-year-old stomped on her head multiple times with her feet. A Good Samaritan was able to stop the fight temporarily, but Ms. Felix encouraged the 16-year-old to again attack the other girl.

Neither of the juveniles suffered serious injury from the fight.

The 16-year-old suspect was also arrested and charged with Battery (M1). The identities of the two girls are not being released.

Click here to see cell phone video recorded of the fight:

Haines City Man Arrested After Fleeing Deputies & Crashing Through Fence

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Haines City Man Arrested After Fleeing Deputies & Crashing Through Fence

Polk County Sheriffs Office Press Release

An alert deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office spotted a suspicious vehicle early Thursday morning, December 6, 2018, which eventually led to the arrest of 34-year-old Christopher Cordell of Langston Avenue in Haines City.

The deputy spotted a Chevy pickup at around 2:58 A.M., on a dead-end road near Citrus Ridge Academy school in Davenport and approached it. Cordell, who was in the truck, immediately fled the scene, and ran through a red light as he drove north on US Hwy 27.

As the deputy was trying to catch up to Cordell, he saw the truck abruptly turn into Northeast Regional Park.

With the deputy blocking the only way out of the park, Cordell rammed a fence, but the truck became stuck, and Cordell fled on foot. Additional deputies and a K-9 unit responded to the scene.

When Cordell saw the K-9, he quickly surrendered. He was found to be in possession of a switch-blade knife and methamphetamines. The truck had been reported stolen out of Osceola County.

“There is a hope that when someone goes to prison, that person will have time to think and make the decision to change their ways to stay out of trouble. This guy obviously hasn’t done that on any of his five stays. Maybe a sixth, much longer stay will do the trick.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Cordell was arrested and charged with: Aggravated Fleeing or Eluding (F2), Possession of Concealed Weapon (F2), Grand Theft Motor Vehicle (F3), Possessing a Weapon While Engaged in a Crime (F3), Felony Criminal Mischief (F3), Possession of Methamphetamine (F3), Felony DWLSR (F3), Resisting (M1), Possession of Paraphernalia Container (M1), Possession of Paraphernalia Device (M1), and Possess Narcotic Paraphernalia (M1).

Cordell’s prior criminal history includes 34 felony and 20 misdemeanor charges, has been convicted of 16 felonies and 10 misdemeanors, and has been to prison five times. His most recent stay in prison ended in February of 2018.

The Grinch Drew In 1,200 Visitors To Gourmet Goodies

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The Grinch Drew In 1,200 Visitors To Gourmet Goodies

The Grinch Drew In 1,200 Visitors To Gourmet Goodies

by James Coulter

The mean old Mr. Grinch took time out of his busy schedule returning the Christmas he stole from the Whos down in Whoville to visit his countless fans at Gourmet Goodies in Winter Haven on Tuesday.

For the second year in a row, Gourmet Goodies hosted its annual Grinchmas, allowing its visitors an opportunity to take photographs with the titular character from Dr. Seuss’ “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”, as well as enjoy a few free cookie samples from their bakery.

More than 1,200 guests young and old lined up outside the store and around the block for a nearly two-hour wait just for an opportunity to meet everyone’s favorite green Christmas character.

Many of these guests were from the local Winter Haven area, while others traveled from other cities such as Lakeland and Haines City, and even from outside the county from as far as Plant City, Sebring, and Tampa, explained Carisa Hughes, Owner of Gourmet Goodies.

“We were super excited,” she said. “We were really ecstatic with the turnout. We were thrilled to see so many people come out and be excited about a community event.”

One Gourmet Goodies customer on Instagram, whose post was shared on Facebook, mentioned how she and her children visited the event as a last minute outing. The hour-and-a-half-long wait was more than worth it for her children to meet their favorite Christmas character, she wrote.

“I don’t think they complained hardly at all, and once we got to meet the Grinch it made the wait all worth it,” she wrote.

Another customer on Facebook also mentioned how she and children were willing to wait in order to meet with the Grinch, and how she actually preferred it to the usual greetings with Santa Claus.

“My kids loved it & so did I,” she wrote. “The line wasn’t that bad either, it was long but it moved pretty quickly (I thought). Overall, it was awesome.”

Hughes was inspired to start her Grinchmas event last year. She and her team only had a few weeks to prepare and market the event last year, which initially drew in at least 200 to 300 people, she said.

This year she received the assistance from many local organizations. Theater Winter Haven provided the Santa chair upon which the Grinch sat upon, while AO Makeup in Orlando was hired to provide the makeup for the green one himself.

With much more time to prepare and market the event, this year drew in a much larger crowd from far and wide, most of which was attributed to word-of-mouth on social media, she said.

“People seem to enjoy the fact that it is something different and they were able to come out and enjoy a free event, and I think people really responded well for that,” she said.

As this year’s turnout more than exceeded expectations, Hughes is hoping to grow the event next year with two additional days as to better accommodate the crowds.

She’s even considering the possibility of even expanding the event outdoors to the park across the street with additional vendors.

“It is something that we are considering at this point,” she said. “We are still assessing all the different feedback. We are excited about doing it again and hosting it and continuing this tradition with Gourmet Goodies in Winter Haven.”

DUI Suspect Injured In Horrific Crash On Hwy 27 In Haines City

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DUI Suspect Injured In Horrific Crash On Hwy 27 In Haines City

Haines City, Florida – Early Thursday morning around 1:40 am Haines City Police Officers responded to the Intersection of Hwy 27 & RWS Ranch Road in reference to a vehicle crash. Upon arrival officers located the vehicle in the median with extremely heavy damage. The vehicles roof had been removed during impact and the driver of the vehicle was slumped over behind the wheel. According to reports officers could see that the driver was breathing, there was a very strong odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle and countless beer cans scattered amongst the debris and inside the vehicle. Due to the amount of damage EMS / FIRE did not have to extricate the driver. They were able to remove him from the vehicle and advised that he would be airlifted for treatment. The driver at the time was complaining of shoulder pain, lower back pain.

Due to debris Highway 27 S was shut down. Highway 27 N was shut down temporarily while the helicopter landed on Highway 27 S. to transport patient.

According to reports a flat bed semi tractor trailer was pulling onto Highway 27 S from RSW Ranch Road. He observed DUI suspects vehicle at the last second south bound on Highway 27 in the outside lane traveling at a high rate of speed. He attempted to pull his semi off to the shoulder but the vehicle struck him before he could. The suspects vehicle struck the left rear tires of the flatbed trailer, continued under the semi until it struck the forks that allow for the trailer to be dropped, breaking them free from the semi. The vehicle dislodged from the semi and spun at least one and a half rotations before coming to final rest in the median facing North.

Due to the medical treatment of the driver who was suspected of DUI an investigation couldn’t be conducted. Officers asked him to consent to a blood draw in which he denied consent. According to police reports the suspect advised that he had drank 1 beer per hour since 1600 hours and he knew he was drunk.

Officers followed up with care of the suspect and were advised he suffered a fractured wrist and was being checked out for his shoulder & back complaints. There were no life threatening injuries.

The driver of the semi tractor trailer was issued a civil citation for violation of right of way. An investor took over the case for the DUI investigation. The suspect was identified to be Travis Lawrence Gerlach (DOB: 05/09/1973) of Haines City, Florida. According to reports Gerlach had a blood alcohol level of .281 and cocaine was also allegedly found in his system.

Highway 27 S was shut down for approximately 3 hours, cars were diverted down South Boulevard to 10th Street to Bates Road then back to Highway 27 S.

CSX Temporarily Closing Avenue G NW Rail Crossing in Inwood Area

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CSX Temporarily Closing Avenue G NW Rail Crossing in Inwood Area
CSX Temporarily Closing Avenue G NW Rail Crossing in Inwood Area
 
Bartow, Fla. (December 6, 2018) — CSX Transportation has scheduled a temporary closure for repairs to its rail crossing at Avenue G NW in the Inwood area of Winter Haven starting Monday morning. Work is anticipated to take no longer than five days to complete. The crossing, just west of the intersection with Spirit Lake Road, will be upgraded in coordination with similar improvements planned for later this month at the nearby Spirit Lake Road crossing south of Avenue G NW.  Traffic congestion and lengthy peak-hour commuting delays are expected. Traffic heading westbound on Avenue G NW east of the tracks will detour at Spirit Lake Road, while eastbound traffic traveling west of the crossing will detour at Recker Highway. Motorists are encouraged to drive carefully and to add more time to trips through this heavily traveled area. For more information, contact CSX at 1-800-232-0144.

UPDATE Fatal Two-Vehicle Crash at HWY 37 South and Hwy 640 in Mulberry

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UPDATE Fatal Two-Vehicle Crash at HWY 37 South and Hwy 640 in Mulberry

PCSO Release:

Photos Provided by PCSO

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash in the intersection of Hwy 37 South and Hwy 640 in Mulberry.

The crash was reported at about 1:06 A.M., and involves a tractor-trailer and a sedan. One person is deceased, and the other person was transported to Lakeland Regional Health Center with minor injuries.

A fire started as a result of the crash, and responding crews will also have to clean up diesel and hydraulic fluid.

At this time, the identity of the deceased victim has not been confirmed, and no next-of-kin notification has been made.

The intersection is expected to remain closed for six hours (until about 9:00 a.m.).

Bartow Woman Struck & Killed By A Car Tuesday Night

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Bartow Woman Struck & Killed By A Car Tuesday Night

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

A 56-year-old Bartow woman was killed Tuesday night, December 4, 2018, at around 8:07 P.M., on Cox Road near 80 Foot Road in Bartow. The woman had no ID on her, but was eventually identified as Irene Rodriguez of Bartow, from her fingerprints.

According to the preliminary investigation, Rodriguez was struck by a white 2016 Chrysler 300C, driven by 62-year-old Janet Caples West on Cox Road when she struck Rodriguez, who was lying in the roadway.

Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene. Caples was not injured.

The roadway remained close for approximately 5 hours, and the investigation is ongoing.

Crime Spree Across Polk County Stopped By Cooperating Agencies – Arresting 5 Suspects

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Crime Spree Across Polk County Stopped By Cooperating Agencies – Arresting 5 Suspects

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies ended a night of crime by five Orlando teens Wednesday morning, December 5, 2018, in the Davenport area. Arrested were 18-year-olds Michael McCall and Traquavious Dennison, and 16-year-olds Joseph Smith, Alan Florvilus, and Jaheim Williams.

At about 11:55 P.M., a Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol noticed a Jeep Renegade driving recklessly on I-4, west of the Polk Parkway (SR 570). The Trooper determined that the Jeep was driving 117 MPH (in a 70 MPH zone). FHP attempted to stop the Jeep, but the driver turned off the lights, and visual contact was lost.

At around 12:37 A.M., officers with the Auburndale Police Department responded to a burglar alarm at Ace Wireless, 413 Magnolia Avenue, and found that a burglary had just occurred there.

At around 12:43 A.M., an officer with Lake Alfred Police Department notified Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies in the Northeast District that he was behind a Jeep reported stolen out of Orlando heading north on Hwy 557 heading toward I-4. Deputies were able to deploy stop sticks on I-4, which caused damage to the tires of the stolen vehicle. The Jeep exited I-4 onto Hwy 27, where it came to a stop, and all five occupants got out and fled on foot.

Four of the suspects were caught near Pet Smart in the Posner Park Shopping Complex. The fifth suspect was spotted by the Sheriff’s Office Air Unit and was subsequently captured by deputies.

“What we saw overnight were five teens coming into Polk County from Orlando to commit crimes against our citizens, and they were met with a collaborative response by multiple agencies. They did some serious crimes, and we have to make sure they’re held accountable for them.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

All five suspects were arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail on numerous charges from Lake Alfred PD. FHP attached charges on McCall, the driver of the Jeep, PCSO had one addition resisting charge for Williams, and Auburndale PD will have additional charges in reference to the business burglary.

Lake Alfred PD Officer Fuore suffered minor injuries to his hands during the apprehension of the suspects. No other injuries were reported.

“This was an outstanding effort between multiple agencies getting some bad guys off the street. I can’t be more appreciative for Officer Fuore and his hard work and initiative-because of his awareness and proactive patrol, multiple criminal cases are going to be solved, and hopefully these thieves will be prevented from committing more crime. “- Art Bodenheimer, Lake Alfred Police Chief

Deputies searched the stolen Jeep and recovered a duffle bag, a laptop, two cash registers, and fifteen Apple iPhones. These items were determined to have been property taken from ACE Wireless.

The investigation is ongoing. McCall and Dennison are also suspects in a residential burglary which occurred last week in northeast Polk County.

Below are details about the suspects and their charges.

Michael McCall, 18, of 6312 Lake Weston Pointe Lane, Orlando.
Charges:
Lake Alfred PD: Grand Theft Motor Vehicle (F-3), Flee to Elude (F-3), Negligent Child Abuse (F-3), Resisting (M-1), and Trespass, (M-2).
FHP: Grand Theft Motor Vehicle (F-3), Flee to Elude (F-3).
McCall is a known gang member, and had warrants out of Osceola County at the time of his arrest. His prior criminal history includes 18 Felony and 14 Misdemeanor charges. He has been convicted of 5 felonies and 3 misdemeanors.

Traquavious Dennison, 18, of 3130 CR Smith Apt.11, Orlando.
Charges:
Lake Alfred PD: Resisting (M-1), and Trespass (M-2).
Dennison is a known gang member and was released from prison on November 9, 2018. He had warrants out of Osceola County at the time of his arrest. His prior criminal history includes 20 Felony and 8 Misdemeanor charges.He has been convicted of 17 Felonies and 3 Misdemeanors.

Jaheim Williams, 16, of 400 W Robinson Street, Orlando
Charges:
Lake Alfred: Resisting (M-1), and Trespass (M-2)
Williams’ prior criminal history includes 5 Felony and 18 Misdemeanor charges. He has been convicted of 1 Felony and 1 Misdemeanor.

Alan Florvilus, 16, or 1233 Golden Gate Avenue, Orlando
Charges:
Lake Alfred: Resisting (M-1), and Trespass (M-2)
PCSO: Resisting (M-1)
Florvilus’ prior criminal history includes 2 Felonies and 1 Misdemeanor charges. He has no convictions.

Joseph Smith, 16, of 813 W Jackson Street, Orlando
Charges:
Lake Alfred: Resisting (M-1), and Trespass (M-2)
Smith’s prior criminal history includes 19 Felonies and 6 Misdemeanor charges. He has been convicted of 3 Felonies and 2 Misdemeanors.

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