On 11-20-2022 Polk County Sheriff's
deputies responded to a 911 call around 8:11 a.m. in a north Lakeland neighborhood about a man that was throwing a “Molotov cocktail” incendiary weapon at a residence. When a deputy arrived at the residence, he witnessed a man getting into an older model Chevrolet pickup truck and leave the scene. Deputies said they were able to block and end the pursuit in the area of the west bound on-ramp to Interstate 4 from Branch Forbes Road in Hillsborough County after ramming the truck. Sheriff Judd said the suspect exited the truck carrying an AR-15 that was fully loaded and also had a fully loaded handgun on his hip.
According to Sheriff Judd, three Polk County deputies fired shots at the suspect, hitting him multiple times. Judd said that the suspect was shot twice in the right leg, once in the left leg and once in the groin.
“We’ve changed the looks of his groin forever, if you know what I mean,” Judd later said at his press conference.
