30-year-old Polk County firefighter tried to steal $165 worth of Pokemon cards

Deputies said a local firefighter was caught stealing Pokemon cards at a Walmart on Thursday. A 30-year-old Polk County firefighter, Joel C.V. Strickland was caught switching barcodes on higher-priced packs of cards with those on lower-priced packs by staff at the Walmart.

Reports say the stolen cards worth $165. Strickland allegedly told the deputies that he planned to “flip” the cards to make extra money because he was struggling financially.

“Help is a phone call away,” Chief Jim Elensky said in a press release about the arrest. “If you are struggling, there are a myriad of resources available. As public safety employees, we are expected to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the respect our communities show us.”

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21-year-old man arrested after punching homeless man in Polk County

According to the Polk County deputies, a 21-year-old man was arrested Thursday after he battered a homeless man.

Kodie Andrew Cameron Cummingham, 21, of Lakeland punched the victim on the right side of his face while arguing with the victim in a parking lot. However, the victim was not seriously injured.

As per the report, Cummingham was arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail. He was booked and released after posting a $500 bond.

Along with that Cummingham has since been let go from a position where he worked as a contracted civilian employee at the Tenoroc Public Shooting Range, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

Polk County deputy raises funds for Speech and Hearing Center

Lt. Jim Ostojic has been a Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy for 26 years. He is doing his best to raise money for the Speech and Hearing Center in Polk County.

He always wanted to be a cop. “I told my parents I wanted to be a police officer,” recalled Lt. Jim Ostojic. “Even since I was a child, I use to play and watch all the cops shows, like ‘Chips’ and stuff like that.”

He’s participating in the Mr. Central Florida campaign, an annual fundraiser for the Speech and Hearing Center.

“My daughter got tubes in her ears when she was younger and her friend actually used the Speech and Hearing [Center] services and that’s why it’s important to me because I saw what it has done for him,” Ostojic said.

Lt. Ostojic has already raised more than $30,000. “I feel, as a law enforcement officer, that we help the children of the community because that’s what we do every day when we go out there and make contact with them,” he said.

Everyone is supporting Lt. Ostojic for this wonderful initiative. Records show he donated more than 150 hours of his own time for this campaign.

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Polk County deputies shot and killed a man armed with a machete late Wednesday

According to the reports, Polk County deputies shot and killed a man armed with a machete late Wednesday during an incident described by the sheriff as “suicide by cop.”

Sheriff Grady Judd said a sergeant, lieutenant, and two deputies responded to a home just before 7 p.m. near Frostproof after Yoel Arnaldo Mejia Santel’s sister called deputies saying her brother was out of control and had battered her.

As per the reports, Mejia Snatel, 28, had served more than five years in Florida state prison prior to being released and moved in with his sister at a home on Freedom Drive.

“For 47 minutes they tried to reason with him, they tried to de-escalate,” Judd said. Mejia Santel charged the deputies when they tried to draw him out. When Mejia Santel got within four feet of the deputies they opened fire, two deputies shooting six times.

“He is deceased because of his bad choice,” Judd said, later adding “none of my deputies are going to stand by and let him run a machete through them” and “we did everything possible to avoid that outcome.”

“We are the best trained people in a crisis, not a mental health counselor who is used to a more clinical setting,” Judd said. “There’s this illusion that if we just had a mental health counseling, well, if mental health counselors just worked we wouldn’t be in the situations we’re placed.”

More News: Missing Alert: 50-year-old Florida mom from Belle Isle, last seen on Sept. 25

A stolen vehicle driven by a teen crashed in Polk County

According to the Tampa Police Department, a teenage driver was driving a stolen vehicle which crashed in Polk County.

A white SUV was stolen out of Kissimmee and luckily witness was able to write down the license plate number of that SUV.

According to the reports, on Wednesday morning and afternoon the deputies received calls about items, including a gun, being stolen from vehicles. From the investigation, it was found that the suspect vehicle was a white SUV.

Authorities said the SUV was spotted at about 1 p.m. on Melbourne Boulevard. According to the news, release, a pursuit was initiated and the SUV drove onto Interstate 4 but as the suspect vehicle entered Polk County, officers on the ground stood down to let the helicopter unit take the lead.

Police cautiously approach the vehicle when it was spotted knowing that a gun had been stolen but the driver fled. The stolen SUV crashed into a pickup truck at U.S. Highway 192, causing serious injuries to that driver, as per the reports.

The Florida Highway Patrol also got involved in this, according to them the impact of that crash also pushed the pickup truck into an SUV, which then hit another SUV.

More News: 80-years-old man dies after being shoved to the ground over a face mask dispute

Florida witnesses a record 5500 plus coronavirus cases in a single day

Florida hits record 5508 Covid-19 positive cases in a single day. Situation seems alarming

According to the state department of Health, Florida has recorded 5508 coronavirus cases in a single day, which is the highest among all days. Moreover, the state has witnessed 44 deaths in a single day. The number of cases recorded is around 1400 more than the previous COVID-19 cases recorded. The total number of cases in Florida has reached 109,014. The 44 deaths have taken the death toll of the state to a total of 3281.

Five more deaths were recorded in Central Florida. They included a 92-year-old woman in Osceola County. 89-year-old person and a 69-year-old woman in Orange County. 89-year-old woman and 65-year-old man in Polk.

All the 44 deaths have not happened on Tuesday but have been reported since Tuesday. It takes almost two weeks for the State to report a coronavirus related death. May 4 is the deadliest day for Florida, which witnessed 54 deaths in a single day.

The total death toll in the region is 281:

Polk County: 80
Orange County: 53
Volusia: 53
Osceola: 24
Lake: 21
Sumter: 17
Brevard: 17
Seminole: 16

To date, the State has carried out around 1,669,440 tests.

The State has also witnessed 13,574 hospitalizations with addition 256 since Tuesday. This is the second-highest hospitalizations related to COVID-19 since the virus began. Governor Ron Desantis with Orlando Health officials in a press conference on Tuesday said that it might have had due to the increased testing for hospitalized patients, who may have the virus.

South Florida has also witnessed 31 new deaths since Tuesday, and its three of the hardest-hit counties are Broward, Palm-Beach, and Miami-Dade. Together, they account for almost more than 54 percent of total Florida’s death toll. Moreover, it has been seen that people who are dying are of older age.

Countrywide, the cases have reached over 2.3 million with deaths being 121,000.

All over the World, the cases are reaching 9.3 million and deaths have reached 478,000. The data has been according to John Hopkins University.

In the U.S, New York has witnessed the most number of fatalities, of 31,000 and New Jersey is coming second with 13,000. Florida is at 9th rank when it comes to the highest number of deaths.

Florida hits record 5508 Covid-19 positive cases in a single day. Situation seems alarming

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