New details have been released in a fatal shooting under investigation in Sebring. Police say the incident happened Tuesday night around 7:35 at a home on Melady Avenue. Officers found an adult male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Life-saving efforts were made, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say the shooting stemmed from an argument between two brothers. One brother, Rikelmer Adiel Roblero Bartolon, was taken into custody without incident and is now facing a charge of second-degree murder.
The Sebring City Council has given conceptual approval to a proposed apartment complex, though nearby residents raised traffic concerns. The Freedom Lake Apartments would add thirty workforce housing units off State Road Seventeen North, with access proposed through Simpson Avenue. Neighbors say the narrow road already struggles with school buses and emergency vehicles. City leaders acknowledged the concerns but say the project addresses a need for affordable housing. No formal vote has been taken yet.
A corrections sergeant at the DeSoto County Jail was arrested Wednesday after investigators say he used unlawful force against two inmates over the weekend. The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office says the incident occurred early Saturday morning and was initially reported by the sergeant himself, triggering an internal review. The case was later referred to the Criminal Investigations Bureau, which resulted in two battery charges. The sheriff’s office says the sergeant has been terminated, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Four Polk County jail deputies have resigned and three supervisors have been suspended following the death of an inmate that went unnoticed for nearly a full day. Internal investigation records show 55-year-old Essie Ward was found unresponsive in her cell in April and had likely been dead between eighteen and twenty-four hours. Investigators say required fifteen-minute welfare checks were not properly conducted. Ward’s death was ruled natural, and the sheriff’s office says new inmate check procedures have since been implemented.