It was a cold, snow-driven night on the plains. Only two sounds filled the cabin - the crackling from the fireplace and the whimpers of a newborn baby. The new father sat at the kitchen table and, by the light of a single oil lamp, entered into his Bible the date and the birth of the newest family member. ...more

March 29, 2009

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite is choosing grandmotherly duties over the county's largest candidate forum. ...more

October 18, 2008

Investigators hoped to confirm today the identity of a woman whose body was found bound with duct tape with her uterus cut open in the apartment of another woman who falsely claimed a newborn baby was her own. ...more

July 20, 2008

Following an unexpected DNA trail, detectives arrested a Riverview woman Thursday and accused her of leaving a newborn baby in a trash bin in Lakeland two years ago. ...more

May 23, 2008

LAKELAND - Detectives arrested a Riverview woman today who is accused of leaving a newborn baby in a trash bin in Lakeland two years ago, the Polk County Sheriff's Office reported. ...more

May 22, 2008

On Nov. 17 at the Inverness Golf and Country Club, Lt. Larry "Buddy" Grant, Deputy Sheriff, was awarded the Sons of the American Revolution Law Enforcement Medal by the Withlacoochee Chapter SAR in recognition of his diligence and decisive action which saved the life of a 15-day-old baby. ...more

December 19, 2007

The five names were mostly unknown to the public and to one another before last week. Pravinkumar Patel and Dasharathbhai Patel. Juanita Luciano and Yvonne Bustamante. Brandon Greisman. ...more

December 15, 2007

Pravinkumar Patel and Dasrath Patel. Juanita Luciano and Yvonne Bustamante. Brandon Greisman. Five names. They were mostly unknown to the public and among themselves before last week. Now they're linked by one more name, Leon Davis Jr., who investigators say is the author of one of the worst crime sprees in recent Polk history. Polk Sheriff Grady Judd on Saturday said Davis used the same gun to kill the Patels execution-style during a Dec. 7 robbery that he used in the fiery robbery and shooting in Lake Wales on Thursday. They plan to seek first degree murder charges against Davis, Judd said. ...more

December 15, 2007