Polk County Sheriff’s Office Charges 20-Year-Old with Written Threats and Use of a 2-Way Device
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A 20-year-old Winter Haven man, Joshua Scott Medler, was arrested on Saturday by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) after he allegedly sent a series of graphic and threatening text messages to a victim.
The investigation began earlier that day when PCSO deputies started looking into the threatening messages. The victim, who was familiar with Medler but had not had recent contact with him, first received a phone call from an unknown number. When the victim answered, they only heard a muffled voice.
Immediately following the call, the victim began receiving a barrage of text messages from the same number. In the texts, the suspect identified himself as “Josh.”
The messages quickly escalated in their threatening nature, with some of the content including:
- “Don’t act like I don’t know where you live ****.”
- “Pray for your parents.”
- “I’ll beat the brakes off of you that’s obvious.”
- “Yup 30 min eta”
In addition to these statements, deputies reported that several other text messages and images sent to the victim were described as “very graphic.”
Deputies successfully located Medler and took him into custody. His cell phone was also collected by authorities as evidence in the ongoing investigation.
Medler was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and officially charged with Written Threats to Kill or Injure and Use of a 2-Way Device to Commit Felony.
READ: Wahneta Fugitive Found Hiding Under Bed After Polk County Community Tips
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