POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd briefed the media and the public at 8:30 a.m. this morning from the scene of a deadly deputy-involved shooting in Frostproof.
What started out as a simple traffic stop for running a stop sign turned into a shootout between the suspect, deputies, and a SWAT team.
The suspect, Raymon Martinez, 37, is deceased.
A Polk County SWAT team member, Deputy Sheriff Samuel Yates, 25, was shot in the shoulder during the incident but is in stable condition.
Judd said the incident started around 10:45 pm in Highlands County Thursday.
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According to Judd, a pursuit was close to being called off when a woman in the car called 911 and said she was a hostage.
Deputies from Highlands County followed the car for 11 miles into Polk County, where it ended at T.S. Wilson Road at South Scenic Hwy (US 17) in Frostproof.
Judd said the suspect’s car got stuck on the ‘high center’ of the road and stopped when it lost traction.
Judd said deputies learned that Raymond Martinez, 37, was in the passenger seat, and the woman who called 911 was driving and was instructed not to stop.
Polk County Deputies responded to the scene to assist and were told there was a third person in the car, a baby, but Judd said they later learned that it was a ‘ruse,’ and there was no baby in the vehicle.
Judd added that Martinez smoked methamphetamine and was “high and low” throughout the ordeal.
Deputy’s attempt to de-escalate the situation failed, and Judd said that Martinez accused the deputies from Highlands County of being part of a Sinaloa Mexican cartel.
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According to Judd, Martinez wanted water, and they talked the man into letting the woman out of the car to retrieve water bottles. Deputies then rescued the woman, who informed them that there was indeed no baby in the car.
“It was a heck of a shootout for a few minutes,” Judd said. “When you have a gunfight with a SWAT team, you lose. Every time. That was his last bad decision of the night,” Judd said.
Judd said Martinez then got into the driver’s seat and tried to drive away, but the car was stuck. Judd said authorities deployed “chemical agents,” and Martinez started to shoot at the SWAT team, and they returned fire.
Polk County Sheriff Deputy Yates was shot in the shoulder and transported to Lakeland Regional Hospital. Judd said he’s in “excellent condition” and is undergoing minor surgery to remove shards of glass from his face.
Martinez was shot multiple times, Judd said.
“As you can well imagine, when you start shooting at a SWAT team, it doesn’t end up well,” Judd said. “And we shot Ramon Martinez a lot. We killed him graveyard dead. We gave him exactly what he asked for.”
“He said he wanted to go to heaven; we made the arrangements for him,” said Judd.
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The scene is located at T.S. Wilson Road at South Scenic Hwy (US 17) in Frostproof.
Deputies say the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force has been activated.
Martinez had 16 previous felony arrests and 13 previous misdemeanor arrests, including spending time in state prison.
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