A 2023 Avon Park murder case is back in the spotlight as a prison inmate is now being charged in the deadly beating of 63-year-old Douglas Lieland. Deputies say 47-year-old Kenneth McLucas—already serving time for gun theft—will be returned to Highlands County to face homicide charges. Lieland was found beaten to death in his mobile home, and investigators say DNA at the scene overwhelmingly linked McLucas to the crime. Detectives believe McLucas killed Lieland to steal his prescription pills and dumped the victim’s phone near Lake Letta. He now faces additional theft and evidence-tampering charges.
A Highlands County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a Valentine’s Day shooting in Sebring.
On Tuesday, a judge handed 20-year-old Ladarius Brown the mandatory minimum under Florida’s “10-20-Life” law, after he was convicted of second-degree attempted murder for shooting Randy Mathis in a hotel parking lot last February. Despite emotional pleas from family, friends, and even the victim himself—who asked the court for probation—the judge said he had no legal discretion once a firearm was discharged during a felony. Mathis survived after being shot in the wrist.
A man is dead after he was shot by deputies in Polk County. It happened yesterday afternoon in Lakeland. The sheriff’s office says deputies were called to the scene for a report that Kentae Govan hit two people with a brick. Deputies say they Tased Govan when he refused to drop the brick, but when he charged at them, they shot him. The 41-year-old was taken to the hospital where he passed away. Sheriff Grady Judd says Govan was a repeat offender who spent over 20 years in prison on child sex charges.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had a very Florida message this week after 25-year-old Adamaris Nalosco was arrested for charging into a traffic stop involving her boyfriend on Highway 60. Deputies say she ignored several warnings and violated the state’s new “Halo Law,” which requires people to stay 25 feet away from first responders—or risk a ride to jail. Nalosco, described as “aggressive” and “in our face,” now faces the Halo Law charge and resisting arrest. And Judd’s parting shot? “Don’t watch that stupid stuff online and think you can come here, show your buttocks to a deputy, and not go to jail.”