News and Investigations

News & Investigations

News Releases and Public Information

Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.

PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Brian Bruchey, Carrie Horstman, and Meghan Petty. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.

The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.

Jun 25, 2019

Fort Meade man arrested for written threats to kill law enforcement

Media Contact: Carrie Horstman, PIO

On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, PCSO detectives arrested 29-year-old Marvin McCalebb Jr. of Sycamore Street in Fort Meade and charged him with one count written threat to kill (F-2), one count use of two-way communication device to commit a felony (F-3), and one count each possession of marijuana and paraphernalia (M-1) after McCalebb posted threats on his Facebook page to kill a PCSO deputy sheriff and/or his family members.

According to the affidavit, the suspect's public Facebook page contained photos of him wearing a homemade T-shirt that says "I kill cops" on it, along with the following messages:

"If you get me a .357, I'll sneak up behind [victim's name] and blow his head off from the back and he'll never see me coming. F***ing P***y! He's a target tho, and I'll f*** up all My Targets! [Victim's name] you're already dead. You just don't know it yet. But in Good Time, Pig! I'll be at your house to deal with you and your family! Just wait, I'll see you soon!"

and: "Well I can't wear this shirt anymore because of My Design on it. Pigs will try to f*** with me over My Shirt and I'll cut pork chops from them too. All I can say is F***ing try me!"

The deputy sheriff mentioned in the post has a well-founded fear that the suspect would figure out where he lives, and where his family members live, and would carry out the credible threat. The deputy has only had minor dealings with McCalebb while patrolling, and recognized him but otherwise does not know why his name was mentioned in the post.

When deputies arrived to speak with McCalebb, he said he assumed they were there to talk about his shirt. After placing him under arrest, they located a pocketknife in his pocket with marijuana residue on it.

"This suspect has been arrested before for making threats against law enforcement - he received probation. One would think he would learn that it's a felony to threaten to kill a cop. This is a dangerous job, and we appreciate the people in our community who support us, and who saw something, and said something." - Grady Judd, Sheriff