FROSTPROOF, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said a man is dead after a hostage situation and deputy-involved shooting in Frostproof Thursday night.
Deputy Sheriff Samuel Yates, 25, a member of PCSO's SWAT team, was injured in the shooting, Judd said. Yates was shot in the shoulder and suffered glass shrapnel injuries to his face.
Judd said the incident started in Highlands County on Thursday night, around 10:45 p.m., as a traffic stop.
Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman said deputies suspected the driver was under the influence and tried to stop them, but they refused to stop.
The pursuit was close to being called off, according to Judd, when a woman called 911 and said she was a hostage in the car. Highlands deputies followed the car for 11 miles into Polk County, where it ended at T.S. Wilson Road at South Scenic Hwy (US 17) in Frostproof.
Judd said the suspect's car got stuck on the high center of the road and lost traction. He said authorities learned Ramon Martinez, 37, was in the passenger seat, and the woman who called 911 was driving. According to Judd, she was not allowed to stop.
Polk deputies responded to the scene and were told there were three people in the car, Martinez, the woman who called 911, and a baby. Martinez told authorities he had two handguns.
Judd said authorities later learned there was never a baby in the car, and it was just "part of a ruse to keep us at bay."
At that time, Judd said authorities were working to negotiate with Martinez, who he described as being "incredibly erratic" and "high and low" throughout the standoff.
Martinez, according to Judd, smoked methamphetamine throughout the standoff. He eventually asked authorities for water, and they tried to get him to trade water for the hostages. Investigators were still under the impression there was a baby in the vehicle at that time, Judd said.
Martinez refused to let anyone out and instead threw out a full magazine and a handgun he cleared, Judd said.
Over the course of the standoff, Judd said authorities looked up the woman and Martinez and were able to account for the whereabouts of all of Martinez's children.
Attempts by authorities to de-escalate weren't working, Judd said, and Martinez accused the deputies from Highlands County of being part of a Mexican cartel.
The Polk County SWAT team arrived, and crisis negotiators took over. They convinced Martinez to let the woman out in exchange for water, Judd said.
The woman wasn't injured and told authorities there was no baby in the car. Judd said authorities are still investigating what the relationship is between the woman and Martinez.
At that point, Judd said Martinez got into the driver's seat and tried to drive away, but the car was still stuck. Judd said authorities deployed "chemical agents," and Martinez started to shoot at the SWAT team, which returned fire.
Deputy Yates was shot and airlifted to Lakeland Regional Hospital. Judd said he's in "excellent condition" and is undergoing minor surgery to remove glass debris from his face.
Martinez was shot several times, according to Judd.
"He was shot and killed in an orange grove in Polk County because he asked for it, and we gave it to him," Judd said. "When you have a gunfight with the SWAT team, you lose every time. That was his last bad decision of the night."
According to Judd, Martinez had 16 previous felony arrests, 13 previous misdemeanor arrests and went to state prison once. According to online records from the Florida Department of Corrections, Martinez was a fugitive at the time of the shooting after he absconded while on felony probation.
The shooting will be investigated by the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force.
