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Recent Press Releases
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Lakeland man guilty of sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissIt only took jurors 80 minutes to find a 39-year-old Lakeland man guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. Jose Vargas is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18. He faces life in prison. Assistant State Attorney Courtney Durden prosecuted the case. She told jurors that DNA evidence linked Vargas to the assault. […]
Sebring man sentenced to life for sexually assaulting girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissA Sebring man convicted in May of sexually assaulting a girl has been sentenced to life in prison. Jose Angel Sanchez, 53, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of sexual battery after jurors deliberated for about an hour. County Court Judge Anthony Ritenour recently sentenced Sanchez to two separate life sentences for […]
Former bus attendant convicted of abusing special needs child
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissA former bus attendant for the Polk County School District was convicted Thursday of abusing a special needs student by pulling her hair, hitting her on the head and sitting on her. Brenda Nelson is expected to be sentenced Nov. 1 by Circuit Judge Donald Jacobsen for the child abuse conviction. Jurors deliberated for about […]
Lakeland man sentenced for starving, neglecting dogs
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissA jury trial was set to begin Monday in the animal cruelty case against Genar Smith, who was accused of starving his dogs to the point of emaciation. Lakeland police officers found the starving dogs at Smith’s home after a neighbor saw a dog in a cage being eaten by two other dogs. When […]
California man convicted of smuggling 15 pounds of meth valued at $600,000
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissA California man was convicted Wednesday of smuggling 15 pounds of methamphetamine in a Kia Soul from the Los Angeles area to Polk County. Ramon Valenzuela, 36, carried the drugs in spaces behind the door panels of the car. He faces up to 30 years in prison after jurors deliberated for about an hour […]
Winter Haven man sentenced to 25 years for molesting 3 girls
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissA Winter Haven man pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually molesting three girls on numerous occasions in 2017. Following the plea, David Kelly Whitchard, 32, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Neil Roddenbery to 25 years in prison followed by a lifetime of sexual predator probation. He pleaded guilty to three counts of lewd molestation. Assistant […]