Man fights Polk County deputies trying to arrest teen stepson

A man and his teen stepson were both arrested Thursday night after the man fought with deputies who were trying to arrest the teen for a string of car burglaries, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies began investigating car burglaries in mid-September from the Hamlet Circle area. A wallet was stolen from a vehicle overnight, and then a month later, two guns were stolen from a car in the same area, according to the sheriff’s office.

The second burglary was caught on video.

On Thursday afternoon, deputies responded to a person who matched the description of the person seen in the video trying to break into cars in the same area. A resident confronted the suspect, later identified as a 17-year-old, deputies said.

Deputies saw the teen walking between Porch Court and Hamlet Circle, who started running when deputies called out to him, according to the sheriff’s office.

The deputies caught up to the teen, who lives with his mother and stepfather on Porch Court. The sheriff’s office said the family recently moved to the area from North Carolina.

The teen’s parents were cooperative with the deputies — who were securing the home for a search warrant — until a woman walked up and said her car keys, office keys and work ID badge were missing, and had video showing the teen, deputies said.

That’s when deputies said the stepfather, 37-year-old Anthony Pettiford, got in a fighting stance and approached a sergeant. Pettiford allegedly grabbed another deputy who was trying to intervene and threw him aside.

Deputies had to use a taser after Pettiford after taking him to the ground because he kept trying to fight the deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.

During a search of the teen’s room, deputies said they found:

• The victim’s keys reported missing while interviewing the subject
• A debit card stolen in mid-September
• A Glock 23 illegally modified into an automatic machine gun, loaded with a round in the chamber
• A Smith & Wesson 38 special, loaded with a round in the cylinder, stolen in mid-October
• A 9mm handgun, loaded with a round in the chamber, stolen from Hamlet Circle in mid-October
• Venlafaxine and Clonazepam pills
• Three large containers of nitrous oxide
• Ski mask, gloves, and backpack that were seen in videos, along with a window punch

“This family learned the hard way that we don’t play around here in Polk County when it comes to keeping our residents safe,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “I cannot even fathom why this juvenile had so many loaded and dangerous firearms in his room. And what a great example his stepdad is setting. They both fooled around, and found out.”

The teen was charged with:

• Armed burglary
• Unarmed burglary
• possession of machine gun
• Grand theft of a firearm (2 counts)
• Attempted burglary (3 counts)
• Possession of controlled substance
• Petit theft
• Possession of inhalent
• Possession of prescription drug without prescription
• Simple assault
• Resisting arrest
• Unlawful possession of personal ID
• Possession of firearm by person under 18 years old
• Possession of drug paraphernalia