News and Investigations

News & Investigations

News Releases and Public Information

Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.

PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Brian Bruchey, Carrie Horstman, and Alicia Manautou. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.

The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.

Sep 22, 2017

Prolific Thief Arrested Again, This Time for Mail Theft in Lakeland

Media Contact: Bruchey, Brian

On Thursday, September 21, 2017, Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a Lakeland woman for taking numerous pieces of mail from the mailboxes of twelve victims.

Karen Ellison, 32, removed the mail from from multiple mail boxes on Ollie Road, then concealed it in her clothing.

Ellison told deputies she went out for a walk and started taking mail out of mailboxes on an impulse. She said she did not have permission to remove the mail from the mailboxes, and hid the mail under her clothing. She stated she did not plan to do anything with the mail.

She has six previous theft convictions dating back to 2005.

Due to her prior convictions, Ellison was charged this time with five counts of felony petit theft (F3).