LAKELAND | A 17-year-old Kathleen High School student was cut on the neck with a box cutter during an argument with another female student early Thursday morning in the school's cafeteria, the Sheriff's Office said.
Jenny Cayo, 16, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and aggravated battery, both felonies. She is being held at the Juvenile Assessment Center in Bartow, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
The victim, who was not named, was treated by the school nurse for a four-inch long superficial cut to her neck, deputies said.
LAKELAND | Hundreds of law enforcement officers gathered Thursday morning to add yet another name of their brethren to the Polk County Law Enforcement Memorial.
Lt. Delmar Harold Teagan of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission became the 28th name added to the memorial at Bicentennial Park in Lakeland.
"We here today remember the 27 whose names are on the small markers behind me," said Marvin Pittman, a retired major for the Polk County Sheriff's Office. "And regrettably today, we add another name."
POLK CITY | A multi-agency law enforcement task force arrested a man and seized 143 marijuana plants from his home in Polk City on Tuesday, reports said.
Reinaldo Martin, 34, was arrested and charged with trafficking in cannabis of more than 25 pounds, possession of cannabis with intent to sell, maintaining a dwelling for drug use, cultivation of cannabis, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
WILLOW OAK | Firefighers from Mulberry and Polk County Station 31 have extinguished a fire that destroyed a large shed and a truck at 2265 Bailey Road.
Crews arrived on scene to find the structure fully involved. The call came in from a neighbor at 9:36 a.m. Part of the shed had been equipped as an office, but no one was there and no injuries were reported.
LAKELAND | Using a note, a bank robber demanded money from an employee at a North Lakeland Bank of America and then left through the front door Tuesday morning.
The bank, at 4330 U.S. 98 North, was robbed by the unidentified man who left with an undisclosed amount of money about 11 a.m., a spokesman from the Lakeland Police Department said. There were no reported injuries.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 170 pounds, wearing a gray T-shirt and silver reflective sunglasses.
A Shearer Cleaning employee who worked at The Home Depot and an accomplice were arrested Monday for stealing copper wire from the store on Ingraham Avenue in Lakeland, Lakeland police said.
Henry Jeff Strickland, 39, of Winter Haven and Raymond Harvey Smith, 28, of Lakeland were both charged with grand theft.
Police watched the store Sunday after receiving information that unknown members of the cleaning company were stealing copper wire, a police report said.
An Auburndale man was arrested Sunday after burglarizing the home of a Sheriff's Office employee, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
Charles David Northrup, 40, was charged with armed burglary, grand theft and burglary of a structure unarmed without persons inside.
According to a Sheriff's Office report, Northrup entered the Bartow home through a side door about 8 p.m. and took items belonging to the employee, including a name plate from a Polk County Sheriff's Office uniform, two large hunting knives, several cans of an agent used by the Sheriff's Office, a gun belt and two magazines for a Glock 22 that belonged to the Sheriff's Office. Northrup also entered a barn on the property and removed a Honda four-wheeler and a 5,200-watt generator, the report said.
LAKELAND | Capt. Delmar "Del" Teagan of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be added to the Polk County Law Enforcement Memorial during ceremonies Thursday at Bicentennial Park.
Teagan was killed in a traffic accident on April 13, 2007, while returning from a training session in Tallahassee. Teagan lived and worked in Polk County.
The 21st Annual Polk County Peace Officers' Memorial Service will take place at 10 a.m. at the Law Enforcement Memorial in Bicentennial Park. The park is behind The Lakeland Center near Lake Beulah.
An Auburndale man was arrested Sunday after burglarizing the home of a Sheriff's Office employee, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
Charles David Northrup, 40, was charged with armed burglary, grand theft and burglary of a structure unarmed without persons inside.
According to a Sheriff's Office report, Northrup entered the Bartow home through a side door about 8 p.m. and took items belonging to the employee, including a name plate from a Polk County Sheriff's Office uniform, two large hunting knives, several cans of an agent used by the Sheriff's Office, a gun belt and two magazines for a Glock 22 that belonged to the Sheriff's Office. Northrup also entered a barn on the property and removed a Honda four-wheeler and a 5,200-watt generator, the report said.
Northrup was carrying the name plate in his back pocket when deputies arrested him, the report said.
In an interview, Northrup admitted to entering the residence, the report said. He told deputies he took only the name plate and two knives, the report said.
Grand Hotel will get a new use, but only for for 3 days
The Grand Hotel in Lake Wales will be a beehive of activity next week, but it will have nothing to do with any long term plans to save the site.
Instead, fire departments from all over central Florida will converge on the 11-story structure Monday morning for extensive training exercises, according to Polk County Fire Rescue officials. Firefighters are expected to stay through the end of the day Wednesday.
Instructors from the New York fire department and from Florida will be providing instruction in high rise operations. Training is expected to include standard pipe operations, rapid intervention team operating such as drag carries and tag/search lines, gear inspections, pump operations and fit testing.
The groups will be divided in two for morning and afternoon sessions, and then flip flop. Group one will do stand pipe and high rise operation, including a full scale operation pulling lines and flowing water.
The Lake Wales Fire Department is also acting as a host for the training.
