Not long ago, Polk County’s biggest draw was citrus.

Floodwaters in the Houston area and parts of Southeast Texas are starting to recede, allowing residents to begin returning to their homes and assess damages after days of heavy rainfall.

A 21-year-old college student has been charged with first-degree murder after Florida authorities say he drove to his mother’s home and stabbed her multiple times Saturday because “she got on my nerves.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a press conference in Polk City Wednesday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Friday morning at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Winter Haven.

More people moved to a county rich with citrus groves located between two of Florida’s most populous metros than in any other county in the U.S. last year.

A patient who returned from a trip is the latest measles patient in Florida. The Polk County case of the highly contagious airborne virus increased the state’s total confirmed cases from nine to ten. The other nine cases are in Broward County.

Lottery officials are urging people to check their Fantasy 5 tickets after six winning tickets were sold in Florida on Presidents Day.

A Florida woman is behind bars after deputies said she poisoned and killed her neighbors' pets.

A Florida man won $5 million playing the Gold Rush Limited scratch-off game, Lottery officials confirmed Tuesday.

A Florida man is facing several charges after deputies said he exposed himself to customers while providing an estimate for pest control services.

A 37-year-old man with an “All Gas, No Breaks” tattoo ended a series of car burglaries with a crash during a police chase on Monday in Polk County.

A Florida man is facing murder charges after deputies say he killed his 16-year-old son with a saw.

A man and woman in Polk County were arrested earlier this month after their 3-year-old child was found in “bone-chilling” condition, according to the sheriff’s office.

Officials say a 13-year-old exchanged gunfire with police during a chase through a central Florida neighborhood and was taken to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

Police in central Florida tried early Wednesday to arrest a man suspected of fatally shooting a 40-year-old woman and her three children, ages 21, 17 and 11.

There's a low-tech remedy for the nitrate pollution affecting waterways in Iowa and elsewhere in the United States.

A man is $1 million richer after playing the $5 Monopoly Doubler scratch-off game, the Florida Lottery announced Wednesday.

Two Iowa teenagers charged in a fatal shooting at a Des Moines school will be tried separately so one of the teens can testify in defense of the other.

A Florida woman won the $2 million top prize while playing the Bonus Cashword scratch-off game, the Florida Lottery announced Friday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo were set to hold a news conference in Winter Haven Thursday.

A pilot and and a 19-year-old student pilot were among four people killed when two small planes collided in midair over a central Florida lake, sheriff’s officials said.

Eight people were arrested Thursday, accused of taking part in an illegal venomous snake trafficking ring in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Two people in Florida were arrested after one of them made a 911 call to get help with moving their belongings from a home they were burglarizing, authorities said.

Authorities are investigating at a central Florida jail after an inmate believed to be on drugs violently fought deputies and died after being restrained.

A central Florida man faces a host of charges after deputies accused him of shooting towards two people and pointed a rifle and laser at a sheriff’s helicopter Saturday night.

A central Florida man took out his anger over nearby construction work by shooting into a vehicle over the weekend, earning him two attempted murder charges, according to authorities in Polk County.

Florida deputy who responded to a domestic disturbance is shot but survived because of his bulletproof vest.

A 21-year deputy was fatally shot Tuesday while serving a warrant in central Florida, authorities said.

A Hollywood man is accused of driving to central Florida in order to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

A Deputy Police Chief from Georgia was arrested after deputies said he responded to an online escort advertisement, which was really an undercover police sting.

Eighty-five people have been arrested and millions of dollars in illicit drugs seized in a smuggling operation that used checked bags on commercial flights from California to Florida, investigators said Friday.

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a woman who allegedly threw a tantrum at a Lakeland McDonald’s because her order took too long.

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a woman who allegedly threw a tantrum at a Lakeland McDonald’s because her order took too long.

The parents of a 2-year-old Florida girl who died weighing less than 10 pounds are accused of negligent child abuse.

A Florida sheriff says 41 people are charged with dozens of crimes in an effort to take down the leadership of a group called the Sex Money Murder gang.

A 20-year-old substitute English teacher at Lakeland High School was arrested on Friday by Polk County Sheriff’s deputies, after being charged with sexual battery.

A Florida woman’s bank account just got a big boost after she claimed a $1 million prize from the Billion Dollar Gold Rush Supreme scratch-off game,

A Miami-Dade County man is facing criminal charges after detectives accused him and his boss of running a conspiracy to steal cargo from five businesses, including Walmart, authorities announced on Monday.

The all-new Peppa Pig Theme Park will open as a certified autism center, leaders announced Tuesday at the IAAPA Expo at the Orange County Convention Center.

More than 100 people have been arrested in a Florida human trafficking investigation that focused on victims who might be forced into prostitution, the Polk County sheriff said Thursday.

An insanity defense is being considered for an ex-Marine accused of killing four members of a Florida family under the delusion they were part of a child sex trafficking ring.

A Florida sheriff says a chance encounter with a former Marine beset by delusions of child sex trafficking ultimately led to the massacre of four members of a Florida family including a mother holding a baby boy.

A Florida sheriff says a man wearing full body armor fatally shot four people, including a mother and the 3-month-old baby she was cradling, and engaged in a massive gunfight with police and deputies before getting wounded and surrendering.

From left, Rodrigo Alberto Mato La Rosa, 27, Lazaro Milian, 50, and Michel Amalfi, 45, face charges in the Jan. 2 attack of a FWC officer in Polk County. The FWC officer suspected the men were poaching deer after he saw someone shining a spotlight and heard a shot was fired, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. State and local authorities identified the suspected deer poachers from Miami-Dade County as Rodrigo Alberto Mato La Rosa, 27, Michel Amalfi, 45, and Lazaro Milian, 50. Detectives arrested Mato La Rosa on Sunday night in Hialeah. Amalfi, Milian, and Mato La Rosa are each facing charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Polk County authorities have two people in custody and were searching for a third person after a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer was run over by an ATV during a Saturday night confrontation. WTVT-TV of Tampa reported that the officer was patrolling the Avon Park Bombing Range when he spotted three people shining a spotlight into the Avon Park Bombing Range property. When the officer approached the individuals, a scuffle broke out. The assailants ran over the officer as they fled the scene, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The officer was taken to the hospital, treated for injuries and released.

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A racketeering ring whose retail thefts amounted to almost $85,000 in items such as baby formula, diapers, and energy drinks has been arrested. According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Publix, Winn-Dixie and Walmart stores, in 18 counties in central Florida were the targets of the group. Five of the suspects (boosters) would enter the stores, and place dozens of cans of baby formula into reusable shopping bags. Each “shopping trip” amounted to a range between $350 to 900 worth of stolen items. Detectives continued their investigation and surveillance of where the stolen items were taken after the thefts.

POLK CITY, Fla. – Deputies say a Florida woman has died weeks after a group of teenagers intentionally ran over her as she defended her son. Investigators say the four teens showed up at Suzette Penton’s house and assaulted her son on Nov. 9. Polk County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Hortsman says Penton died last week from her injuries. She says a van carrying the four teens ran over her after she went outside to confront them. She says the teens went to the home because of a “romantic entanglement” between the teens and Penton’s son.

Suspects are Tony “TJ” Wiggins, 26, Mary Whittemore, 27, the girlfriend of TJ, and William” “Robert” Wiggins, 21, the brother of TJ, all of Frostproof. At the direction of TJ, Robert was told to make a U-turn and follow them, according to police. They went back to their trailer to eat, Robert told detectives. Judd said that Robert told TJ what he had heard. TJ Wiggins was also seen in that video with her.

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Three friends were murdered moments after getting together to do some night fishing at a lake. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Saturday that the men were beaten and shot late Friday night near the city of Frostproof. “Brandon was able to say a few things to his dad, which we are not releasing at this time,” Grady said. On the Polk County Sheriff’s website, a news release stated that “Brandon’s dad left his home so fast, he forgot his cell phone. The area where the three men were killed is about 68 miles southwest of Orlando and more than 200 miles from Miami.

POINCIANA, Fla. – A Florida SWAT team fatally shot a murder suspect early Monday after investigators say he pulled a gun on them after barricading himself inside a house. Arenas pulled out a wad of cash and started counting it, Judd said. The SWAT team was brought out. The SWAT team then shot him with beanbags, knocking him down, and his gun fell to the floor. Judd said both Arenas and Orlando Rivera had long criminal histories in Florida and elsewhere — Arenas in Rhode Island and Rivera in Philadelphia.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Authorities in central Florida say two Disney workers and a former assistant principal at a middle school were among 17 arrested in a child porn sting. In a news release, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Friday that the 17 men arrested range in age from 19 to 77. Authorities say 52-year-old Walt Disney World Resorts janitor Donald Durr, of Davenport, had images of child porn on an electronic tablet. Investigators say 40-year-old Brett Kinney, of Lake Alfred, told officers he had an addiction to child pornography and worked as a guest experience manager at Disney World. In a statement, Disney says Kinney is no longer employed by the company and Durr is on unpaid leave.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Investigators in Florida have arrested a 17-year-old gamer who they say made violent and disturbing online threats to kill and stab multiple people. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news release that tips from users of the Discord text-chat site led detectives to the teen, who was arrested Wednesday. He says the teen admitted to making the threats after becoming jealous of other gamers. Officials say the teen wrote that he was "going to kill so many people," adding that he wanted to stab people and "make them hurt." Another text said he gets happy when he imagines himself "being a villain going on a mass murdering spree like in a movie."

FORT MEADE, Fla. - Police are investigating a possible alligator attack after a man's body was found in a Florida canal Thursday. Polk County deputies say an alligator was seen nearby when the body was found in the Fort Meade-area canal around 7:30 a.m. The 12-foot, 449 pound alligator was captured and a necropsy will be performed to see if the animal was involved in the man's death, WFTS reports. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is assisting in the investigation. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.