POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A former Polk County sheriff’s deputy found himself on the wrong side of the law Tuesday after investigators discovered he was getting paid for hours he never actually worked.
Ezekiel Williams, 25, was arrested on May 20, 2026, by his former employer, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives say Williams lied on multiple time cards, pocketing $4,318.39 in unearned taxpayer money.
Williams is now facing four third-degree felony charges: grand theft, official misconduct, scheming to defraud, and the unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
The trouble started back on March 24, 2026. Because of a medical issue, Williams was approved for a light-duty assignment at Animal Control. His schedule was set for Tuesday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Mondays, he was allowed to use paid time off and medical leave to attend his doctor appointments.
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By April, things began to unravel. Williams started calling out of work frequently, sending text messages to his supervisor at Animal Control. Eventually, the supervisor noticed how often Williams was missing and flagged the issue for the agency’s law enforcement leadership.
A quick look at his time cards revealed major differences between the hours he logged and the time he actually spent on the job. That sparked a full investigation and a complete audit of his pay periods. In the end, investigators found that across three different pay periods, Williams claimed 131.5 hours that he never actually worked.
“This deputy was injured off-duty, and we gave him every opportunity to handle his medical issues and continue to work on light-duty status,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “The thanks he gave to us in return was to steal our money. Now he is looking at jail from the inside out. Had he not resigned, his employment would have been terminated.”
Williams first joined the agency as a deputy sheriff on May 21, 2024. Following his arrest, he was booked into jail and is currently being held on a $20,000 bond, which is set at $5,000 for each of his four charges.
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