One of two Florida burglary grand theft suspects with a long criminal history bragged that he would be out of jail shortly after his arrest before he realized he was taken into custody in a county where the law is enforced by a no-nonsense sheriff with a tough-on-crime platform.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his deputies spotted a stolen Dodge Ram just after 1 a.m. Wednesday. The driver, identified as Tamari Lucas, 24, a Tampa resident, and a passenger eventually stopped the truck and fled on foot, authorities said.
Lucas was arrested but the passenger was not found, Judd said. Upon his arrest, Lucas allegedly told the deputies that he wouldn’t be in jail for long because he was arrested in Osceola County. He was then informed that he was in fact taken into custody in Polk County.
“Oh, my God! Not Grady Judd! Are you (expletive) serious? This really sucks because you guys don’t play around in Polk County,” he allegedly stated.
Imagine that! Chasing relentlessly after bad guys and putting them away makes criminals feel unsafe.
Too bad more sheriffs weren’t like him..
…with prosecutors and judges willing to not go soft on criminals as well. Otherwise it’s just catch-and-release at a slightly different point in the stream … and a good way to demoralize good cops and get them to leave.