In the early morning hours of November 1, 2024, Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies assigned to the Northwest District of North Lakeland solved a series of car burglaries, recovered three stolen firearms, arrested the teenage suspect and then they arrested the teenager’s stepfather when he decided to physically fight them.

The car break-in trend started in mid-September 2024 in the Hamlet Circle area. A wallet was stolen from a vehicle parked overnight. A month later, two firearms were stolen in the same area from another personal vehicle. Video surveillance from the October break-in showed a suspect wearing gloves, a face mask and long sleeves, flipping door handles and trying to break car windows.

On October 31, 2024, in the middle of the day, deputies responded to Hamlet Circle in response to a suspect matching the same description attempting to break into vehicles, who was scared away by a resident. The resident confronted the suspect, who grabbed him by the waist and told him he “had something for him” and made it clear it was a firearm if he approached. Fearing for his life, the witness pulled over and called 911. During this time, a vehicle had its rear window broken.

Deputies flooded the area and canvassed the neighborhood. Several home surveillance videos were reviewed that showed the suspect’s path, which included the Porch Court area. While deputies were still driving through the area, they saw an unknown male juvenile, matching the description, walking between Porch Court and Hamlet Circle. When they called him, he ran away and they ran after him.

They caught up with the fleeing suspect on Britt Road and he was identified as Ronetae Degraffenreid, 17, who lives at 8314 Porch Court with his mother and stepfather. The family recently moved to Polk County, North Carolina.

Roneta’s parents were initially cooperative as they talked to deputies about their son’s activities, until another victim came forward and told deputies her car keys were missing, along with her ID badge and office keys. He had a video showing Ronetae. She said that when she is home, her vehicle is parked in her garage.

Ronetae’s parents then decided not to cooperate and attempted to return to their home, which was secured for the purpose of obtaining a search warrant. Ronetae’s stepfather Anthony Pettiford, 37, raised his fists and took a fighting stance as he approached a PCSO sergeant. A detective intervened, at which point Pettiford grabbed the detective and threw him aside. Pettiford was taken to the ground, where he continued to actively struggle with deputies and the Tasers were deployed. He was taken into custody and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and resisting arrest without violence.

Pettiford told deputies that he is from New York, then North Carolina, and that the family moved here from NC about a month and a half ago (note: the first burglary occurred on September 16). His criminal history in four different states includes charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, possession of a firearm as a minor, burglary of an occupied dwelling, theft, fleeing to elude and DWLSR.

During the execution of the search warrant, deputies found the following stolen items in Ronetae’s room:

• Keys from victim who reported her car broken into while on scene interviewing suspect;
• A debit card that was stolen in mid-September from the Hamlet Circle area;
• A Glock 23 illegally modified to convert it into an automatic machine gun, loaded and with a round in the chamber; entered as stolen from Lake County; hidden in the air handler;
• A Smith & Wesson 38 Special, loaded and with one round in the cylinder; stolen from Hamlet Circle in mid-October; hidden in the air handler;
• A 9mm pistol, loaded and with one round in the chamber; stolen from Hamlet Circle in mid-October; hidden in the air handler;
• Venlafaxine and Clonazepam pills, which are prescription pills and are illegal to possess without a prescription; In addition, Clonazepam is a class 4 narcotic;
• Three large containers of nitrous oxide; a witness told deputies Ronetae told another juvenile he had “whippits” for which nitrous oxide is known to be abused;
• Ski mask, gloves, backpack (all seen in videos) and a window punch.

Ronetae was accused of:

• armed robbery (F1)
• unarmed burglary (F2)
• Possession of a machine gun (F2)
• 2 heads Grand Theft of a Firearm (F3)
• 3 points Burglary attempt (F3)
• Possession of a controlled substance (F3)
• Petty theft (M2)
• inhalant possession (M2)
• Possession of over-the-counter medication (M2)
• Simple Assault (M2)
• Resistance to arrest (M1)
• Illegal possession of a personal identity document (M1)
• Possession of a firearm by a person under 18 (M1)
• Possession of drug paraphernalia (M1)

“This family learned the hard way that we don’t play around here in Polk County when it comes to keeping residents safe. I can’t even fathom why this juvenile had so many loaded and dangerous firearms in his room. And what a great example his stepfather sets. They both cheated and found out. We welcome anyone who wants to move here to our county, which is a wonderful and safe place to live, but we have this message – if you come here to commit a crime, we will lock you up without hesitation.” – Grady Judd, the sheriff

“Oh, and you can’t make this up — this family has a doormat at the front door that says ‘return with a warrant.’ They might want to think about redecorating now that they’ve caught our attention and everyone else’s.” – Grady Judd, the sheriff