POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A former Polk County deputy was arrested on Wednesday for aggravated stalking, among other charges, after she reportedly harassed her ex-boyfriend.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, on Tuesday, Deputy Sheriff Silvia Lara, 26, went to her ex-boyfriend's home in the Wahneta area of Winter Haven unannounced. He told deputies that he asked her to leave his home several times, at which time he attempted to close the door but Lara grabbed the door preventing him from doing so.
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The ex-boyfriend told deputies that at one point she reached through the doorway and grabbed his arm, scratching it and leaving a mark. She was not on duty at the time. He reported the incident to PCSO.
During the investigation, deputies learned that on March 11, Lara's ex-boyfriend and his current girlfriend were at Winter Haven Hospital for an unrelated incident. Lara was dispatched to WHH after a vehicle crash and saw her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend's personal vehicles in the parking lot. Deputies say that Lara began to call and text her ex-boyfriend multiple times. He stopped answering Lara's calls, at which time Lara called the hospital room's phone and argued with his new girlfriend.
Deputies also learned that in December 2017, Lara responded to her ex-boyfriend's home while on duty, reporting that someone called 9-1-1. Her ex-boyfriend and his family told her there was no emergency. Next, deputies say Lara parked her patrol car at the end of the street and waited. The man's new girlfriend told detectives that she walked outside and Lara approached her. She said that Lara told her (the victim) that Lara would arrest her for trespassing if she didn't leave.
Lara was hired as a Deputy Sheriff in November 2015 and was most recently assigned to Southeast District patrol. She resigned effective immediately upon her arrest — had she not resigned, she would have been terminated, PCSO said in a press release.
Lara has been arrested and charged with:
- Misuse of official position for responding to a false call for service (F-3)
- Aggravated stalking (F-3)
- Misuse of DAVID (M-1), for accessing the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle database to view the victim's driver's license and personal information
- Burglary with a battery (F-1), for entering the front porch of her ex-boyfriend's home, remaining there after being told to leave, and scratching her ex-boyfriend's arm
She has been booked into the Polk County Jail, and is being held on no bond until a first appearance hearing Thursday.
