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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 Carrie Horstman, Brian Bruchey, and Julianna Rivera. 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.
Jul 10, 2025
Polk County Sheriff’s Office charges teens from Connecticut and New York for swatting incidents in Poinciana
Media Contact: Brian Bruchey, PIO
Two teen suspects from New York and Connecticut have been arrested on charges from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, following an investigation of two swatting incidents that occurred last month in Poinciana.
“Swatting” calls are false reports of violent emergencies that are intended to elicit a response from law enforcement, particularly from SWAT units.
The suspects are 15-year old Cardiere Martin of East Hartford, Connecticut and 14-year old Isaiah Reyes of Syracuse, New York.
“Swatting is a serious and dangerous crime, and often results from on-line gaming and arguments. If you do this to a resident of Polk County, Florida, we will track you down and hold you accountable. It doesn’t matter where you are, or how old you are, we are going to come after you and hold you responsible for wasting law enforcement resources and endangering people.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
At approximately 7:49 pm on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, PCSO deputies were dispatched to a residence on Pilchard Drive in Poinciana, after gunshots were reported to have occurred there. The caller identified himself as a 12-year old child who lived at that home.
Deputies arrived and quickly determined that there had been no gunshots, and the child who lived at the house did not make the call.
On the following night, Thursday, June 5, 2025, at around 7:15 pm, the PCSO responded to a second call to the same residence on Pilchard Drive; this time the caller stated that he murdered his family with a shotgun. Again, the report was false.
PCSO detectives determined that the child at the residence had been playing Fortnite online with friends that he had made through the Discord server. The suspects were said to be upset with the victim’s play during the game.
The detectives were able to track the calls back to the two suspects.
With coordination between the PCSO, the Department of Juvenile Justice, Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit, East Hartford Police, and Syracuse Police, the two suspects were arrested, and their transfer to Polk County was put into motion.
Cardiere Martin was booked into the Polk County Jail on July 7th, and Isaiah Reyes was booked in on July 10th.
Both suspects are facing charges for False Report Concerning the Use of Firearms in a Violent Manner (F2) and Unlawful Use of 2-Way Communication Device (F3).