POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Lakeland man is behind bars after a midnight argument over a flashlight quickly escalated into violence and led deputies to a hidden stash of heavy drugs.
Polk County Sheriff’s deputies rushed to a home on McLeod Road in Lakeland around 1:30 in the morning on Thursday, May 21, 2026. They got a call about a battery, which means someone was physically attacked.
When deputies got to the scene, they learned that an argument had broken out because people were fighting over who owned a flashlight. Things got violent fast. Two victims explained to the deputies exactly what happened. They said that 37-year-old Rashad Battles grabbed a flashlight right out of a woman’s hands. When she told him to give it back, Battles allegedly grabbed her by the throat and began choking her.
A second person inside the home tried to jump in and stop the choking. When he did, Battles punched him straight in the face.
READ: Polk County Sheriff: Lakeland Waitress Stole Customer’s Credit Card For Winter Haven Spa Day
As deputies started asking questions and investigating the scene, Battles tried to turn around and just walk away from them. Deputies stopped him immediately and put him under arrest.
Before taking him away, deputies searched a backpack Battles was carrying. Inside, they discovered both methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Battles was booked into the Sheriff’s Processing Center. He faces a long list of criminal charges, including felony charges for robbery by sudden snatching, battery by strangulation, possession of fentanyl, and possession of methamphetamine. He is also charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
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