UPDATE 2/25/25: Polk County Sheriff’s Office Offers Additional Details on the Arrests of Two Juveniles Charged with 1st Degree Murder; Names the Second Suspect:
Sheriff Grady Judd held a secondary press conference on Tuesday morning, Thursday, February 25, 2025, to offer additional information with regard to the investigation of two juveniles, charged with the first-degree murder of a 22-year-old man from Eagle Lake in a drug-related situation. The victim’s name has been released as Juan German-Garo, Jr., 22.
The second suspect, who has been referred to until now as a 16-year-old, is Charles Andrew Jackson III, a student at Lake Wales High School.
He is said to be the individual who went online, and using an unnamed app, and requested to purchase $400 worth of marijuana from the 22-year-old victim he allegedly later shot.
According to Sheriff Judd, the investigation shows that the victim is said to have travelled from his home in Eagle Lake to Frostproof to meet Jackson and his partner, 15-year-old Tyjhae Allen. Allen was arrested yesterday. After a 3-4 minute conversation, Jackson allegedly pulls a Draco AK-47 out of a book bag owned by Allen and shoots the victim 3 times. The victim is mortally wounded, and his vehicle rolls about a half a block down the road and comes to a stop. Two large bags of marijuana were found in the victim’s vehicle, according to a statement released by PCSO.
During the press conference, Sheriff Judd says that 911 was called, but does not elaborate on who made the call.
Both “Tyjhae and Charles flee,” says Judd. “Then Tyjhae says…my book bag is still in the middle of the road…so he runs back to get his book bag. He runs home. Charles disappears.”
It is suspected by investigators that, as Jackson fled, he called his father, Charles Jackson Jr., 37, who resides in Avon Park, to pick him up.
On Monday, February, 24, 2025, representatives of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office go to Avon Park to make contact with Jackson Jr., in search of his son. While officers are present, Jackson Jr., who himself has a criminal record, allegedly texted his son and encourages him to flee, while immediately deleting the texts. Jackson Jr. was arrested as a result.
As it turned out, Jackson III allegedly decided to attend classes on Monday at Lake Wales High School, where he is a student.
“He showed up for school. Did you hear what I said?” says Sheriff Judd during the press conference. “Monday morning he showed up for school at Lake Wales High School like nothing had happened. And he just murdered a guy by shooting him three times…”
PCSO PIO Meghan Petty has confirmed that Jackson III, after fleeing from Lake Wales High School, turn himself in to the south substation of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at around 3 PM yesterday. It is not clear if he was alone or with his mother.
Lake Wales High School was placed on heightened security for a period of time on Monday afternoon.
Tyjhae Allen is charged with first degree murder, attempted armed robbery, tampering with evidence, and giving false information to a law enforcement officer. He was arrested for criminal mischief to a vehicle in 2021.
Charles Jackson III is charged with first degree murder, attempted armed robbery, and tampering with evidence. He was arrested in 2022 for juvenile in possession of a weapon.
Charles Jackson Jr. was arrested for tampering with evidence [for deleting the text messages between him and his son], and accessory to first degree murder. His criminal history includes 25 previous felonies and 14 previous misdemeanors, and he has been to state prison two times based on convictions for battery on the elderly, simple battery, fleeing to elude law enforcement, and grand theft.
The gun used to murder German-Garo Jr. has not yet been located. It is a Draco pistol, which looks similar to an AK-47 without the stock [see example photo]. Anyone with information about the location of the firearm is asked to call Heartland Crime Stoppers 1-888-400-TIPS (8477). There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to the location of this weapon, and callers remain completely anonymous.
The investigation is ongoing.
Original story: The Polk County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference this afternoon, Monday, February 24, 2025, revealing that one suspect in last night’s homicide in Frostproof has been arrested.
Sheriff Grady Judd says 15-year-old Tyjhae Allen will be charged with 1st degree murder, tampering with evidence, and attempted robbery.
Since this afternoon’s press conference, PCSO has advised the media that they have also apprehended and arrested the second suspect, a 16-year-old, whose name has not yet been released. The circumstances around the 16-year-old’s arrest have not been made public at the time of publication.
There were two known suspects involved in the murder of a 22-year-old in Frostproof on Sunday evening February 23, 2025.
The press conference began with the following statement from Sheriff Judd:
“We had a very tragic event that shouldn’t have happened yesterday afternoon at about 5 PM in Frostproof, Florida. A 22-year-old kid was shot and killed. Now, I want to preface this by saying this 22-year-old kid was selling marijuana. That’s right, I hear it over and over; ‘Oh, it’s just a low-level, non-violent crime, marijuana.’ Well, tell our victim’s mother that, who lost her 22-year-old child yesterday.
“And here’s what occurred:
“As we know now, a 15- and a 16-year old suspect went on an app and ordered up some marijuana. When our victim arrived at about 5:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon in this Frostproof neighborhood, as he’s pulling down the road, he’s stopped by a 15- and a 16-year-old. They have some conversation for, as it’s described to us, for 2 or 3 minutes, when one of our suspects pulls out a firearm and begins to shoot our 22-year-old victim, who then tries to return fire.
“His car drifts down about a half a block where it runs into the edge of the road and stops and that’s where we find our 22-year-old, with a clutched…with marijuana in his hand; a baggie of marijuana in his hand, and he’s deceased.
“Tyjhae Allen is 15 years of age. He’s one of the two suspects. He’s in custody. This occurred in his neighborhood; and in fact, he stopped our drug-selling victim in front of his house.”
Sheriff Judd states in the press conference that the suspects did not have any money to purchase marijuana at the time of the confrontation.
At 3:30 this afternoon, PCSO advised that both suspects were in custody, and that more information about the second suspect would be released at a later time.
Sheriff Judd says his office will request that the state attorney’s office try them both as adults.
As for the victim, Sheriff Judd says that, even at 22, he was still a “kid.”
“He shouldn’t have been selling dope, but he certainly shouldn’t have died because he was. And he did. He was murdered. In the street. In this nice quiet neighborhood.”
