WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the arrest of six people, including a 17-year-old alleged gang leader, in connection to guns stolen from locked cars in Lakeland.
During a news conference on Friday, Judd said the six documented gang members committed at least 38 car burglaries in just three nights with the sole intent of stealing guns to commit other crimes.
According to the sheriff, 13 car burglaries happened on March 11 in the Reflections West neighborhood, 11 burglaries happened on May 26 in the Christina Oaks neighborhood, and 14 burglaries happened on May 28 in both the Highlands Crossing and Mission Hills neighborhoods.
"They specifically targeted vehicles that were most likely to have firearms within them, often looking for window and bumper stickers with pro-gun messages. This is a very bad group of criminals who intended to steal guns to be used for even more crime," Judd said.
The sheriff said the gang members used a window punch to smash windows in mostly locked cars in the Lakeland neighborhoods. Oftentimes, according to Judd, they even left behind other valuable items like credit cards.
“They would bypass valuables because they were looking for guns," Judd said.
The 17-year-old boy arrested is facing a total of 75 charges with a gang enhancement. He'll be charged as an adult for crimes including armed burglary, possession of a machine gun and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Judd mentioned that during the investigation, deputies found a video on the 17-year-old's phone of the teen pointing and mock-firing a Glock handgun at three juveniles, including a 17-month-old toddler.
Eldred Kellum, 23, was also arrested on 63 different charges with a gang enhancement, including armed burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and directing activities of a criminal gang. Kellum is accused of working with the 17-year-old to coordinate the burglaries and carry out several of them.
The other arrests include 22-year-old De’Andre Guilford, 22-year-old Taurean Sumrall, 19-year-old Javien Sterling and 18-year-old Eric Denson.
Judd said Sumrall's main role was to coordinate the selling of the stolen guns while Sterling was recruited by the 17-year-old to be the driver for the group for the May 28 burglaries.
Of the seven guns stolen, the sheriff's office says two have been recovered.
"All six suspects are documented gang members and four of the six suspects have gang enhancement penalties on their charges. The PCSO is not identifying the name of the gang," the sheriff's office wrote in a news release.