Polk Sheriff's Charities, Inc. is sponsoring a free turkey giveaway Saturday, Nov. 21, at three Polk County locations.

WINTER HAVEN — On Nov. 6, Winter Haven Public Safety Director Charlie Bird announced that Beloni Petit-Frere had been charged in the murders Leslee Umpleby and Timothy Anderson at the Rose Motel on Oct. 14.

Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic violence call in unincorporated Bartow at around 8:40 a.m., Sunday, November 8.

Ed Palmer officially became the Lake Wales Police Department’s community liaison officer on Sept. 14.

The month of November is Aviation History Month, so I figured it would be interesting to not only take a look back at the history of the Aviation Unit at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, but also fill you in on what the unit does for our fine community.

BARTOW — Years in the making, in October the Bartow Police Department became an accredited force, according to Interim Police Chief Bryan Dorman.

Three Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies defended themselves with lethal force Wednesday, Oct. 14, when a Polk County resident living near Frostproof rushed them while holding a machete over his head.

Winter Haven police detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating 38 year-old Beloni Petitfrere – a person of interest who may have knowledge about a double homicide Oct. 14 at the Rose Motel, located on U.S.17 in Winter Haven.

In the aftermath of an almost fatal truck versus bicycle hit-and-run accident in Frostproof on Monday, Oct. 12, many took to social media in an attempt to bring the truck driver out of hiding.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office narcotics detectives developed information in September of 2020 that a source of illegal narcotics was trafficking methamphetamine from Colorado to Polk County.

HAINES CITY – Winter Haven Police Department officers won first place in the “Hoops & Heroes” fundraiser basketball tournament, held Oct. 2 to benefit the Ridge Community High School Lady Bolts basketball team.

When the state of Florida legalized medical marijuana, it created a lot of confusion as to what is legal and illegal.

FROSTPROOF – Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Amanda Lynn Brown Sept. 23 for fraudulently setting up a GoFundMe account to benefit the families of Brandon Rollins, Keven Springfield and Damion Tillman.

BARTOW — In the wake of another police officer's resignation, this after the officer reportedly uttered a homophobic slur towards a citizen, Bartow Interim Police Chief Bryan Dorman is mandating additional implicit bias training department-wide.

DAVENPORT – Impaired while on a drug called acid, a 19-year-old from Orlando who had been staying with friends at a Four Corners area hotel wandered to a nearby apartment complex and wound up fatally shot in the early hours of Sept. 6.

One suspect has been arrested and another is still at-large, according to Polk County Sheriff’s Office officials, following an armed robbery and carjacking in Winter Haven last week.

Officials from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office say Mayson Armando Ortiz-Vazquez, of Orlando, went on a rampage through a Lakeland neighborhood the morning of Aug. 28 that ended in his death.

HAINES CITY – A Haines City couple was arrested on Aug. 25 for running an illegal virtual

The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating a fatal shooting that occurred in the unincorporated area of Auburndale.

WINTER HAVEN – Polk County Sheriff's Office detectives recently arrested a youth boxing trainer on multiple drug-related charges.

On Wednesday, Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Martin Grenfell, a candidate for a seat on the Polk County Board of Commissioners, on charges of false swearing with regard to voting — a third-degree felony by state law.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has made three arrests in relation to the triple homicide that occurred in unincorporated Frostproof July 17.

LAKE WALES — On July 14, elected officials voted to approve funding to hire a police officer primarily responsible for working the Northwest neighborhood of Lake Wales.

FROSTPROOF — A night of “catfishing” ended in the tragic murders of three “best buddies” at Lake Streety on Friday night, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference Saturday morning.

On July 6, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced an arrest by the Winter Haven Police Department of a Polk County licensed certified nursing assistant for exploitation of a disabled adult.

A Lakeland woman was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Winter Haven church.

Last week, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of “Operation Guardians of Innocence V” — including 16 arrests involving those in the possession, promotion and distribution of child pornography.

HAINES CITY – Corey Crosthwaite, a youth pastor for Still Water Christian Life Center, recently invited Haines City Police Chief James R. Elensky to send some of his officers to the church to speak to his youth group, giving the youth and parents the opportunity to ask questions in the after…

According to officials from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a Winter Haven man stabbed his mother at her home Wednesday morning, June 10, then shot at three Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies, forcing the deputies to return fire.

POLK COUNTY — On Wednesday, May 27, a Bartow woman was arrested for murder in the death of a 4-month-old infant.

BARTOW — Last week, Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall abruptly announced his retirement at the end of May.

WINTER HAVEN — Winter Haven Firefighters responded Wednesday evening to a call received regarding a two-story structure on Avenue A NE that was on fire.

Winter Haven Police detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on May 7, 2020, at approximately 12:45 a.m. in the parking area of Abbey Lane Apartments, located at 100 Evergreen Place in Winter Haven.

UPDATED AT 3:20 P.M. TUESDAY, APRIL 28

WINTER HAVEN – According to Public Safety Director Charlie Bird, seven Winter Haven Fire Department first responders had some potential exposure to COVID-19 and have been ordered into self-isolation.

HAINES CITY – A Haines City Police Department statement released Monday confirmed that four people were found dead in a murder-suicide inside the Southern Dunes subdivision on Sunday morning.

HAINES CITY — The Haines City Police Department announced March 26 that a third accuser has come forward and Joshua Ayers, who was arrested in late-February for sexually battering two young girls, is facing nine additional charges for being in possession of sexually-suggestive photos.

On Wednesday, March 25, undercover narcotics detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at 114 Harbor Drive, in Winter Haven, in response to complaints and information that illegal narcotics were possibly being sold from the home.

A release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on March 24 announced the arrests of two Polk residents for stealing more than $600 worth of merchandise from a Walmart in Mulberry.

Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the Poinciana area of Kissimmee, in unincorporated Polk County, the morning of March 19 and learned that a man there had shot and killed his live-in girlfriend and then refused to exit the home.

Undercover detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and partnering agencies conducted a seven-day undercover operation, from March 16, during which detectives posed as girls and boys online — on social media platforms and online dating sites — to investigate those who prey upon and t…

The 9-1-1 emergency system has been around for many years now, but there are still many people who don’t know when it is appropriate to use.

You might have heard in the news that the father of pop singer Taylor Swift recently thwarted a burglar in his St. Petersburg home when he came home during the crime.

BARTOW — Several members of Bartow's police force gathered at City Hall last week to see one of their own honored for his life-saving actions in January.

HAINES CITY — A member of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for nearly 30 years, Loyd Stewart was named deputy chief of the Haines City Police Department and started his tenure this month.

BARTOW — Two people died in a plane crash last week occurring near the Bartow Executive Airport.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating a homicide that occurred on Feb. 16 in the Poinciana area, within unincorporated Polk County, which led to a SWAT callout and a deputy-involved shooting that occured Feb. 17.

Detectives from Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s Identity Theft Strike Force arrested a Winter Haven woman last week on Thursday, Feb. 13, after an investigation concluded that she had stolen or misappropriated approximately $1.6 million.

On January 15, 2020, PCSO detectives arrested 35-year-old Neidy Mendez-Gudine, of Davenport, for one count aggravated child abuse and one count manslaughter in the death of a 13-month-old baby.