News Update for 8/22/25
An Avon Park corrections officer is facing charges after deputies say a domestic dispute turned violent.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 29-year-old Artavis Pierce struck a woman in the face twice during an argument inside their Lakeland home. Investigators noted visible injuries on the victim. Pierce was arrested and charged with domestic violence battery. Sheriff Grady Judd called the incident “especially disappointing” given Pierce’s role as a public servant entrusted with the care of inmates. It’s unclear if Pierce is still employed at Avon Park Correctional Institution.
The Lake Wales Municipal Airport is set to get major safety upgrades after city commissioners approved an agreement with the FAA.
The resolution, passed unanimously on August 19, authorizes funding to replace the airport’s aging weather reporting system and outdated rotating beacon. Airport officials say the current equipment is unreliable and often in need of repair. The FAA will cover 95 percent of the project through an Airport Improvement Grant, with the remaining cost funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. The upgrades are expected to provide pilots with safer, more accurate weather information.
A convicted felon is back behind bars after deputies say he opened fire in a Lakeland neighborhood out of workplace frustration. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says 36-year-old Tadeuzs Jeffrey Chandler was seen firing a gun into the air on Jungle Street Tuesday evening before walking into a nearby home. Deputies later learned the firearm was stolen from a relative. Chandler was arrested and charged with multiple offenses, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of a firearm, and disorderly conduct. No injuries or property damage were reported.
A new emergency management facility is opening in Central Florida. The 450-thousand-square-foot warehouse is in Auburndale, in Polk County. The head of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, calls it the Florida Central Operation and Coordination Office, or FLA-COCO. It will be filled with personnel, supplies, and equipment ahead of catastrophic weather.