POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Polk County man related to two men accused of attacking Capitol police on Jan. 6, 2021, has been arrested, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Samuel Doolin is facing multiple charges not related to the U.S. Capitol attack. The sheriff's office said Samuel Doolin is the brother of Joshua Doolin and cousin of Jonathan Pollock.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a blue 1985 Chevrolet truck just before 6:30 a.m. Thursday on Kathleen Road near Laurel Woods Lane in Lakeland. According to the sheriff's office, the truck had no license plate displayed.
When troopers approached the driver, 27-year-old Samuel Doolin, he refused to identify himself or exit the truck, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. That's when the trooper said he spotted a handgun on the seat between Doolin and his passenger, 23-year-old Tiffany Beam.
Doolin told the trooper he had the gun for "protection against law enforcement," the sheriff's office explained. That prompted the trooper to go back to his patrol car and call for backup.
When deputies arrived, they also ordered the couple to get out of the car but were unsuccessful. The deputies then approached the truck using a ballistic shield for protection.
Judd said the couple, again, refused to get out of the truck, so deputies broke the back window and used a taser to get Doolin into custody. Beam did not further resist arrest, according to the sheriff.
Deputies say they found five firearms in the truck including a Glock 9mm handgun which had been altered from semi-automatic to automatic and a rifle equipped with a 14-inch barrel that was altered to operate as an automatic weapon. The rifle also reportedly had no identifiable model or serial number.
"Samuel Doolin thinks he's above the law. He doesn't like to obey the same
laws that every one of us abides by...from simple traffic laws to more serious
crimes of illegal firearms. We don't know what he planned to do with those
firearms, but we know he won't be getting them back," Judd said.
The sheriff's office charged Doolin with possession of a fully-automatic firearm, possession of a shirt-barrel rifle, possession of a firearm with an altered or removed serial number and resisting without violence. FHP charged him with resisting with violence and cited him for multiple other violations.
Beam was charged with resisting without violence.
Samuel's brother, Joshua Doolin, is awaiting trial for charges related to the Capitol attack. Pollock, who is Samuel's cousin, currently has a $30,000 reward out for his arrest and is considered a fugitive for his alleged role in attacking the Capitol police.