But not just any church. It was the church attended by the step-mom of the sheriff. A man took a hundred dollars from her hand and ran away. But you do not piss off Sheriff Judd and his deputies.
This seems like overkill to me.
The man should not have taken the money, that should go without saying. But 6 deputies, several K-9 units, and a helicopter are a little over the line in my opinion.
Don't mess with God, Grady Judd or his stepmother.Cross the line with all three and expect the cavalry to hunt you down.
Detectives late Monday arrested Harold S. Williams, 28, 1635 Goodyear Ave. in Lakeland, and charged him with taking Sunday's offering from Crystal Lake Baptist Church, 1000 Mount Airy Ave. in Lakeland.
He's accused of snatching the $100 in tithes and offerings from the hand of Sheriff' Grady Judd's stepmother, Shirley Judd, who is the church treasurer. Williams is charged with robbery by sudden snatching, a third-degree felony, and disrupting a religious assembly, a second-degree misdemeanor.
Within minutes of the 11:30 a.m. robbery, deputies, K-9 units and the Polk County Sheriff's Office helicopter swarmed the scene, searching for the man.
"Thank the Lord I wasn't hurt or injured," said Shirley Judd.
Our sheriff's department, while efficient, has a habit of reacting with great force when it is not warrented.
Swat Team and hovering helicopters hunt down man who stole hedge clippers.DAVID MILLS/LEDGER PHOTOS
Polk County sheriff's deputies and Lakeland Police SWAT officers walk Old Dixie Highway following a standoff with an armed man who was barricaded in a mobile home at Tower Manor Mobile Home Park near Lakeland on Thursday. The suspect, 26-year-old Moises Torres, surrendered after a four-hour standoff in which tear gas was fired into the home.About noon Thursday, a 911 call brought deputies to a mobile home park off Saddle Creek Road between Lakeland and Auburndale, where a man had been seen stealing a pair of hedge clippers. The man, later identified as 26-year-old Moises Torres, ran into a home at the Tower Manor mobile home park, sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers said.
Torres lives in a home on Tower Manor Drive, but he ran into another home and wouldn't come out, Rodgers said. He was armed and had been drinking, she said.
No one else was inside the mobile home, Rodgers said.
It took tear gas emptied into the home, a hovering helicopter and about four hours of coaxing from law enforcement officers before Torres walked out the front door and surrendered, Rodgers said.
Torres was arrested and charged with grand theft, Rodgers said.
Some were concerned at the huge show of force when the man took the $100 dollars out of Mrs. Judd's hand and ran. But the Sheriff's spokesman reassured everyone.
About six patrol deputies responded within the first few minutes of the call. And the number grew, adding K-9 units and the Sheriff's Office helicopter to the mix, Weatherford said.
"There wasn't an unusual number of units that responded," said Donna Wood, a PCSO spokeswoman. "When a suspect flees, especially on foot, there is always the possibility that he may still be in the area. We're always going to respond accordingly."