A Polk public schools bus attendant, Juanita Tappin, 43, of Lakeland, has been charged with three counts of child abuse and three counts of abused on a disabled adult. The arrest came after a special needs child reported she had been struck en route to Doris A. Sanders Learning Center. Source: Tampa Bay Times
Category: Crime / Justice
Posted inCrime / Justice
Suspect in Dixieland Shooting Turns Himself In
A man suspected in a Dixieland shooting that sent a 23-year-old woman to the hospital Monday evening turned himself in to authorities this morning after his photo was posted on social media, Lakeland police said. Trayvion Arrington, 18, has been arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to spokesman Gary Gross.
Posted inCrime / Justice
Woman, 23, Shot in Dixieland in Possible Robbery
A 23-year-old woman was shot in the chest in Dixieland around 7:09 p.m. Monday in a possible armed robbery, @LakelandPD says. Woman was taken to LRH. No condition released. No name or address or info on victim released. Suspect is being sought. https://t.co/iwhQVSj5zC #lkld — Lkld Now (@LkldNow) May 7, 2019 Source: The Ledger
Posted inCrime / Justice
Read It in the Morning Paper
SCHOOLS: Hours after the Florida Senate approved a bill allowing public school teachers to carry guns in the classroom, Polk Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd said it won’t be happening here. “The sheriff has not come to me asking to arm any teachers,” she said, adding Polk’s 150 public schools will continue using armed guardians or school […]
Posted inCrime / Justice
Woman Charged With Murder in Joseph Witherington’s Death
Heather Tyler, 28, of Winter Haven, was arrested Friday in what Sheriff Grady Judd called the “cold-blooded” killing of Joseph Wayne Witherington, 21, of Lakeland, in an orange grove near Alturas. Tyler told deputies she shot him in the back of his head with a 9mm handgun Wednesday after he continued driving erratically after she […]
Posted inCrime / Justice
Troller: City Shouldn’t Pay School Officers’ Salaries
The city of Lakeland plans to hire four more school resource officers to ensure someone is providing security against the possibility of a gunman while the officer usually assigned to the school is investigating a crime on campus or is out sick or on vacation. The city is negotiating with the Polk School Board to […]
Posted inCrime / Justice
Sheriff: Lakeland Murder Victim Found in Alturas Grove
The body of Joseph Wayne Witherington, 21, of Lakeland, was found this morning in an orange grove off Mud Lake Road in Alturas by grove caretakers, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports. Murder is suspected. “Preliminary investigation reveals that Witherington was killed and left in the grove by an unknown suspect or suspects,” the Sheriff’s […]
Posted inCrime / Justice
Dad Shot, Killed While Dropping Off Toddler Son
A 21-year-old father was shot and killed Tuesday night after getting into an argument with several men when dropping off his 3-year-old son at the boy’s mother house on Jewell Avenue, Lakeland police say.
Posted inCrime / Justice
LPD: Arrested Man Drove From Miami to Kill
The suspect in the Feb. 15 killing of 32-year-old Steven Schelmety at Artillery Motor Sports drove from Miami, shot nearly 30 rounds without leaving his pickup truck and drove back, Lakeland police say. The arrest of Juan Alejandro Vargas Diaz, 28, was announced today. No motive has been given. | Ledger coverage Source: ABC Action News
Posted inSchools
Haas: Student in Pledge Case Won’t Be Prosecuted
State Attorney Brian Haas told The New York Times that his office has no plans to prosecute the Lawton Chiles Middle Academy sixth-grader who was charged with disrupting school activities after an argument escalated over his refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. But the article also notes that an attorney for the 11-year-old’s […]