POLK COUNTY, FL. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd briefed the media on Friday after deputies opened fire on two fleeing suspects in the Mulberry area overnight.
According to the sheriff’s office, the deputies were assisting two other agencies while doing a routine patrol in Bowling Green when police caught the two men burglarizing a business with a semi-automatic weapon.
Deputies caught up with the suspects at State Road 60 and Prairie Industrial Parkway in Mulberry.
Judd said the driver turned their lights off to evade them, and instead of driving out to Highway 60, the driver circled around and drove directly at the Lieutenant who was setting up stop sticks.
“Immediately we start shooting at the vehicle, James is shot in the head, in the face area and Justin is shot in the legs,” said Judd.
“They shot a lot,” said Judd. Adding that the number of rounds fired would be released after the investigation is complete.
The driver of the fleeing vehicle – James Carlton Hillburn, Jr., 27, of Riverview; He currently has 3 out-of-count warrants with 6 total charges: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (2 counts), robbery, petit theft, battery domestic violence, and failure to appear for battery domestic violence.
Deputies say the passenger in the fleeing vehicle – Justin Alan Norris, 25, of Dover; he has an out-of-county warrant for failure to appear for burglary. Judd added that
The PCSO Deputies involved were Lieutenant William “Billy” Strickland, 49 years old, 20 years of service PCSO Deputy Sheriff Britton “Alex” Watson, 32 years old, 7 years of service PCSO Deputy Sheriff Dylan Harrison, 27 years old, 2 years of service.
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