HAINES CITY, FL – A North Florida man who fatally stabbed an elderly man last week has been formally indicted on eight charges and will be held without bail. Christopher Lynn King, 32, of Madison, Fla. was indicted by a grand jury on counts of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, armed carjacking, grand theft auto, fleeing to elude, tampering with physical evidence, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence. King stabbed 79-year-old Carlos Manuel Goitia three times in the stomach with a pocketknife with a four-inch blade outside of a medical compl ..read more

Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Computer Crimes Unit (CCU) charged five suspects for possession of child pornography after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC) that the suspects were possibly transmitting or downloading the harmful images and videos. Detectives served search warrants at the five suspects’ houses and seized all of their digital devices for further analysis. Each suspect faces additional charges if more illegal content is found.   “We are thankful for our partnership with NCMEC. By combining our resources ..read more

Haines City, Florida – In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 26, 2022 the Haines City Police Department arrested a fugitive from multiple states. The suspect Joshua Mitchell, 9/2/1995, was wanted in both Georgia and New York for the offenses of aggravated stalking, domestic battery, and false imprisonment, reckless driving and several other offenses. Below is a release from the Haines City Police Department (It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the A law enforcement agency. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of ..read more

Haines City Police Department Press Release An elderly man who was stabbed Friday afternoon in a parking lot has died from his injuries and the charges against the stabber have been upgraded. Christopher Lynn King, 32, of Madison, Fla. is now being charged with felony first-degree murder after the death of 79-year-old stabbing victim, Carlos Manuel Goitia, of Haines City, on Sunday. He is also charged with aggravated battery on a victim 65 or over, armed robbery, grand theft auto, carrying a concealed weapon, fleeing to elude, driving without a valid license, resisting arrest with and without ..read more

HAINES CITY. FL- A Winter Haven man with a warrant for attempted murder was arrested in the early hours Of Friday morning following a vehicle pursut and a brief manhunt. Lemuel Johnson Jr., 36, is being charged by the Haines City Police Department with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing to elude and driving with a suspended or revoked license. He is also charged with burglary of a structure, resisting arrest without violence and false imprisonment by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Johnson was driving a 2017 Ford Escape after 11 p.m. on Thursday when he was pulled ove ..read more

Haines City, Florida- The Haines City Police Department is currently investigating a shooting which occurred in front of a Polk County Fire Rescue station in Haines City. The shooting suspect is in custody. The name of the suspect is Robert Earl Greer III. The following is a long exerpt from the Haines City Police Department affidavit and specifically (It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Haines City Police Department. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. The Daily Ridge d ..read more

Bartow, Fla. (February 2, 2022) — A Haines City sewer main relocation project will close Johnson Avenue (County Road 580) from U.S. Highway 17/92 to N. 18th Street to traffic for one month starting Monday, February 7. Westbound traffic on Johnson Avenue will detour south along N. 18th Street, then west on Summit Avenue to U.S. Highway 17/92. Eastbound traffic will detour south onto U.S. Highway 17/92, then east on Summit Avenue to N. 18th Street. While detours are short, travel delays and heavy congestion are expected during peak-hour commutes. Motorists should add extra time to trips through ..read more

Following a 6-month-long undercover investigation, Polk County Sheriff’s Office undercover Narcotics detectives made 60 arrests throughout Polk County and obtained eight (8) arrest warrants related to the sale and/or possession of illegal narcotics. The drug sales transactions all took place on three different social media and mobile dating apps: Grindr, Scruff, and Taimi. Grindr was the app with more drug sales than the other apps mentioned. The investigation began in July 2021 when PCSO received a Heartland Crime Stoppers tip indicating that people were openly selling drugs on ..read more

Haines City Hosted Annual Christmas Parade by James Coulter Nearly one week until the big day, Haines City celebrated a holly jolly Christmas with their annual holiday parade last Friday evening. Several dozen floats and other units made their way through Haines City, starting at Live Oak Avenue on C Street, passing by Lake Eva Park, and ending at 6th Street and Wood Avenue. The parade was attended by various local businesses, churches, dance troupes, non-profit organizations, and the police and fire departments. The procession started with the Honorable Grady Judd and the Polk County Sherif ..read more

The WAY Center Celebrates Another Annual Fall Fundraiser by James Coulter A young lady had been in a nine-year relationship with a man who considered her worthless. He forced her to quit her job and controlled every aspect of her life. They drifted from motel to motel and regularly got high. One day, her boyfriend left for work and never returned. She found herself without a home, job, or money. She was scared out of her mind. The death of both her grandparents proved to be the breaking point for her. She prayed to God and asked Him if this was the life she was supposed to have. God responded ..read more