BARTOW — Adrian Jay Apgar, who deputies say twice in little more than a year had naked encounters with alligators, pleaded not guilty this morning in Polk County Circuit Court to exposing himself, trespassing, breach of peace and failure to appear in court. The charges stem from a March incident in which Apgar, 47, was found by Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies naked and wading in Saddle Creek Park near several alligators. ...more

June 20, 2008

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd will speak Monday at the National Retail Federation conference, detailing his agency's efforts in breaking up a multimillion-dollar retail crime ring in January. ...more

June 19, 2008

Mercades Nichols will have to wait for trial to tell her version of what happened to Victoria Lindsay in the now infamous Lakeland video beating. ...more

June 4, 2008

TAMPA - Mercades Nichols, one of six teens accused of beating Victoria Lindsay and recording the attack so it could be posted online, was partially successful this morning in seeking permission from a judge to have house arrest and other restrictions lifted. ...more

June 3, 2008

Out of 20 more suspect lollipops seized by authorities Thursday, only one appears to have a piece of metal embedded in it, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. ...more

February 15, 2008

LAKELAND - There does not appear to be an epidemic of blade-flavored lollipops in Polk County. ...more

February 14, 2008

Marcos Gomez-Romero told investigators in a sworn statement that he beat his 4-month-old daughter to death because he wanted a son and not a daughter, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. ...more

January 12, 2008

TAMPA - A Lakeland man accused of luring a 13-year-old girl away from her home was arrested Friday and charged with three counts of lewd battery, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. ...more

January 11, 2008

A Tampa Bay area legal expert says charges of child pornography may not stick to a Lakeland school principal. ...more

December 25, 2007

BARTOW - A Polk County principal was arrested today after deputies found pictures of a childlike naked woman with the head of a girl superimposed on the image, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. ...more

December 21, 2007