A five-month investigation has led to the arrest of 21 suspects and the dismantling of a theft ring that targeted six central Florida counties, including Highlands County, and was responsible for the theft of thousands of cans of powdered baby formula. ...more

March 6, 2009

The Polk County Sheriff's Office today announced 21 arrests in what authorities say is a multimillion-dollar baby-formula theft ring operating in at least three states. The men and women arrested face a variety of charges, including organized retail theft, shoplifting, possession of fake driver's licenses, larceny and fraud. All are in the country illegally. ...more

March 6, 2009

Randy Nowak told a judge today that he never wanted any harm to come to the IRS officer he tried to have killed. ...more

March 5, 2009

On March 30, 2008 six teenage girls confronted 16-year old Victoria Lindsay about trash-talking about them online and in cell phone text messages. The six girls took turns punching and kicking Lindsay while they video tape the beating. Two teenaged boys stood watch outside the Lakeland home to warn the girls inside. Here are the events that followed. ...more

March 5, 2009

Two Lakeland men are accused of running a cockfighting operation that involved 124 roosters, officials said. ...more

February 28, 2009

A methamphetamine lab inside a home has been shut down, the Polk County Sheriff's Office says. ...more

February 26, 2009

Spirit Lake Road in Winter Haven is open again following a single-car crash early this morning. The driver, 21-year-old Tyler Parton, and his father, 49-year-old Kenneth Parton, both of Bartow, were in stable condition at area hospitals. ...more

February 26, 2009

A man pretended to deposit $2 million at an ATM and then withdrew a hunk of money from a woman's account, the Polk County Sheriff's Office says. ...more

February 25, 2009

Polk County investigators have made arrests in two separate methamphetamine investigations. On Monday, detectives learned Richard Brewer, 33, was manufacturing methamphetamine at his Lakeland home, Polk County deputies say. Brewer, of 509 E. Main Street, already was on probation for manufacturing methamphetamine. ...more

February 24, 2009

A 57-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing of a 52-year-old man during an argument Saturday, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. ...more

February 23, 2009