The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested two people as a result of a shooting incident that occurred recently in Winter Haven. There were no injuries in the shooting.
PCSO detectives arrested Derick Wilkerson of Orlando and his friend, Stacy Newton of Winter Haven. Newton is employed by Polk Correctional Institution in Polk City.
The shooting occurred on State Road 540 West, near Bradbury Road in Winter Haven. The victim and the two suspects are all known to each other, according to law enforcement.
According to the victim, he was returning home when he saw Derick Wilkerson leaving his neighborhood, so he pulled up to Wilkerson’s vehicle to make contact with him.
As the victim got out of his vehicle, Wilkerson got out of his and was holding a firearm and pointed it at the victim and threatened to kill him. The victim turned to go back to his vehicle, but Wilkerson followed him.
The victim asked Wilkerson if he was going to shoot him, and Wilkerson raised the gun slightly over the victim’s head and fired one shot in the air. Wilkerson turned and walked back to his vehicle.
Newton arrived at that time and told Wilkerson to leave. She then picked up the spent bullet casing, put it in her pocket, and left the area.
A witness who was at a residence nearby corroborated the victim’s story, and security video from a residence also showed the crime as the victim described.
During an interview with the detective, both Wilkerson and Newton provided full confessions, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
“We are always going to hold public servants to a higher standard, and accountable if they should break any laws,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “A corrections officer should know better than to associate with someone with such a violent history; it will eventually get you into trouble, and in this case it did.”
Derick Wilkerson was charged with: Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon without Intent to Kill, Driving While License Suspended/Revoked-Habitual Offender, Improper Exhibit of a Firearm, Discharging a Firearm in Public, and Culpable Negligence.
Stacy Newton was charged with tampering with evidence.
