‘They ripped him off and shot him:’ Man killed in drug-related homicide, Polk County deputies say

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A marijuana deal gone wrong ended with a shootout that killed a suspected dealer Monday afternoon, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said the victim, a man in a white Nissan, went to a 7-Eleven on Marigold Avenue around 3 p.m. to meet with two males to sell them marijuana.

When the buyers arrived in a dark blue Chevrolet, possibly a Malibu, they both got out of the car. One went inside the white Nissan while the other stayed outside, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

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After some time, the suspect who went inside the Nissan got out with a bag of marijuana and a gun fell to the ground, according to the sheriff. The other man who had been in the Chevrolet then started firing at the Nissan, records show.

“We had a shootout right here on the south side of the 7-Eleven, then they jumped into the blue vehicle and fled,” Judd said in a video posted to Facebook.

The two males have not been located. Judd described the crime as a drug deal gone wrong.

“We have a young man that’s dead today because he came here, apparently at this early stage of the investigation from everything we can see, to sell marijuana to the two Black males, they ripped him off and shot him and killed him,” Judd said.

He said the shooting highlights the dangers drugs can pose in the community.

The sheriff ended his briefing with a message to the two culprits.

“We’ll find out who did this. For the two of you who shot and killed this man, go ahead and turn yourself in, make it easy on yourself, because we’re going to hunt you down and put you in jail,” he said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.