Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd made a bold statement during a press conference Friday, wearing a thick gold chain and bracelet seized from drug traffickers and waving a handgun to illustrate the deadly ties between drugs, money, and violence. “This is their drip. I got their money. We got their guns. We got their dope,” Judd said, unveiling the results of Operation Capital City Crackdown, a year-long investigation that led to 32 arrests across Polk and Orange counties.
Authorities say the suspects were responsible for pumping marijuana, fentanyl, crack cocaine, MDMA, oxycodone, and other narcotics into Bartow. Investigators executed nine search warrants, seizing more than $150,000 worth of drugs and multiple firearms from convicted felons. Judd identified Nathaniel Donald as the “tip of the spear” of the operation, accusing him of running a network that ensured drugs were readily available in the community.
The investigation also revealed deadly consequences. One suspect, Troy Cortez Walker, allegedly sold drugs to a 65-year-old woman last September; she collapsed and died the next morning while walking to church. “So Nate could have this drip,” Judd said. A grand jury has since indicted Walker on a first-degree murder charge in connection with her death.
Bartow Police Chief Stephen Walker and FDLE’s Brannon Sheely praised the coordinated effort, saying the arrests demonstrate that drug traffickers will not find refuge across jurisdictional lines. Judd closed by pushing back on the notion that drug crimes are non-violent: “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.”
Source: YouTube
