Sheriff Grady Judd rocked a massive $50K gold chain that was seized from a drug trafficking bust while briefing the press. I mean, talk about swag!
This Florida sheriff is known for his no-nonsense approach to crime, but he definitely knows how to have a little fun too. Sporting that bling at a press conference, Sheriff Judd definitely turned some heads and got people talking.
The gold ‘drip’ as the sheriff called it was a result of ‘Operation Capital City Crackdown’, a year-long drug trafficking investigation that led to the arrest of 32 suspects, including one who was in the country illegally.
“I got their drip. I got their money. We got their guns. We got their dope,” the sheriff explained.
According to Judd, the 32 suspects have been dealing drugs in Bartow for years and they have been to prison in the past.
“These people will never stop selling dope if they’re not locked up and people die,” Judd explained.
Nathaniel Donald is the kingpin of Bartow, according to Judd.
“Of the drug sales that occur, he is the tip of the spear or the head of the snake. He’s not a pharmacist, but those under his command will make sure that you have marijuana, fentanyl, crack cocaine, MDMA, all kinds of pills to include oxycodone, hydrocodone, ketamine.”
Judd said a total of eight search warrants were served countywide, along with an additional search warrant in Orange County.
Thousands of grams of various illegal drugs were seized with a total street value of $150,000.
Arrests included suspects already on probation or pre-trial release, and several firearms were recovered from convicted felons. The combined total of the suspects’ criminal histories add up to 554 previous felonies and 394 misdemeanors, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
“Where you see $50,000 in drip, where you see that not-so-dangerous drug of cannabis, you see guns and you see first-degree murder from overdose. I am over it. I am over it when people tell you that drugs are low-level and non-violent.”
“I just want to thank them for this and helping to clean up our city,” said Chief Stephen Walker of Bartow PD. “We know we have problems and we do what we can and sometimes they’re outside of our scope to take care of so we rely on that assistance.”
“Through our partnership you see here today, drug traffickers don’t have a safe haven,” said Brannon Sheely with FDLE. “They don’t know juristictional boundaries, but you can see we have these boundaries covered so we’re going to hold people accountable.”
But hey, if you’re going to take down the bad guys, why not enjoy the spoils a little? So kudos to Sheriff Judd for adding a little sparkle to his crime-fighting game – keep doing you, Sheriff!
Flip to the next page to watch the video of Grady Judd rocking the gold chain while addressing the press…
