Grady Judd: Driver fatally shot before slamming into Lakeland home, killing man passing by on electric bicycle

Car crashes into home, homicide investigation underway

Evyn Moon reports

LAKELAND, Fla. - The driver of a Mercedes was fatally shot just before his vehicle slammed into a Lakeland home and killed an electric bicyclist who was passing by at the time of the crash, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

The deadly crash happened along Pirates Way in the Secret Cove area at around 1:30 p.m., Judd said in a news conference on Monday.

Deputies first got a call about the crash, but when they responded, they found the driver, who is described as a young black male, with a gunshot wound in his chest.

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Timeline:

The Polk County sheriff said the white Mercedes-AMG, which was driven by the young black male, pulled into the Secret Cove area. That's when deputies said other young black males came up to the vehicle and were seen talking.

Grady Judd: Car crashes into Lakeland home, 2 dead

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the driver of a Mercedes rammed into a Lakeland home after being shot in the chest, hitting and killing an electric bicyclist that was passing by. Detectives are now looking for those who were involved.

After that, the Mercedes was seen speeding off on Pirates Way, which is in a neighborhood, and drove directly into a home along that road. After the crash, Mercedes' emergency services put in a call to first responders to respond to a vehicle crash.

Deputies and other first responders said they found the car completely inside the Lakeland home. They pulled the driver out of the vehicle, which is when they found the gunshot wound, according to Judd.

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That's when, the sheriff said, this turned from a fatal crash investigation into a homicide investigation.

Deputies also said they found another person, a 38-year-old man, underneath the car, who was dead. Investigators believe the man was riding his electric-powered bicycle and was passing by the home when the Mercedes rammed into it.

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Dig deeper:

The driver of the Mercedes was found with a tattoo that had the famous quote "the world is yours," from the Scarface movie, tattooed on his chest, according to Judd. He also had the quote "life is a gamble" tattooed on his hand.

While the investigation remains active, Judd said investigators do believe that one of the several young black males who originally approached the Mercedes fired the deadly shot that killed the driver.

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Investigators also said they found two gallon bags of marijuana in the Mercedes as well as a "thick wad of cash." The driver of the Mercedes is suspected of driving into the area to make a drug deal and the other males planned to rip him off, officials said.

Judd said deputies have video of what happened along Pirates Way during the time of the incident.

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.

What they're saying:

"I want to make it abundantly clear to those who were there that we have your picture," Judd said. "It's important that you understand you can be a suspect or you can be a witness... We know that one person was the trigger man. We know that the others were involved. So once again, you decide. You decide where you want to stand in this investigation."

Judd also said the man on the electric bicycle appeared to have no involvement in this event that led up to the crash and shooting. The sheriff said he was riding to his brother's house, which was near the residence the vehicle crashed into.

"He was just so unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Judd said.

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What we don't know:

PCSO has not released the names of the two people who died. Judd did not go into detail about the driver of the Mercedes or any criminal record, but when asked about it during the news conference on Monday, he responded, "he is not flawless."

What you can do:

The young black males who were seen near the Mercedes before the driver was shot and crashed into the Lakeland residence, ran off from the scene. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The Source: The information in this story was released by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

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