On Monday, April 27th, at around 9:30 pm, 33-year-old John Southerland of Lake Wales was arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

PCSO deputies responded to the area of Sally Street in Lake Wales Monday evening after a report of a suspicious man entering a shed without permission.
Upon the arrival of deputies in the area, they located a suspect who matched the given description. That suspect was John Southerland.
At the time, John had no stolen property on him, but as the investigation continued, deputies discovered that he had stolen a weed-whacker and ditched it on another property.
Deputies recovered the weed-whacker and returned it to the victim.
John Southerland has a prior criminal history which includes: trespassing, criminal mischief, and false report to LEO.
John was taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and charged with: Burglary (F3) and Petit Theft (M2).


