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2 DCF employees arrested in Polk County on back-to-back days for unrelated incidents: PCSO

By FOX 13 News Staff
Published  August 20, 2024 1:59pm EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - Two employees with the Florida Department of Children and Families were arrested in Polk County in back-to-back days for unrelated crimes.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, deputies arrested two DCF employees on Sunday and then Monday, both for driving infractions. 

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At around 2 a.m. on Sunday, PCSO responded to a crash on Saddle Creek Road in Lakeland where the driver had collided with a utility pole. The responding deputy could immediately tell that the driver, Evelyn Ross, 47, of Auburndale, was intoxicated, PCSO reported.

Photos courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office

Her eyes were bloodshot and watery, and the deputy detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on her. She admitted to the deputy that she had made a bad choice and had a lot to drink. 

Ross' two Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) tests came back at 0.197 and 0.190, both over double the legal limit in Florida of .08. She was arrested and charged with DUI. 

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The next day, on Monday, at around 1 p.m., a deputy initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle after learning the registered owner of the car, Jayla Rae Robinson, 22, of Lakeland, had a suspended license. 

According to PCSO, when the deputy asked Robinson for her license, she gave it to him, telling him that she knew her license was suspended and had been pulled over just two days before and given a citation for the very same violation.

In the vehicle with Robinson was a 15-year-old child who she told deputies she was taking to court. Authorities contacted another DCF worker to come pick up the child and transfer them to court. 

Robinson was arrested for knowingly driving while license suspended or revoked. 

"We take DUI and DWLSR offenses very seriously, especially when the suspects are people in a position of trust in the community," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Driving children around for work after already being cited for driving with a suspended license is irresponsible. And driving and crashing a car under the influence of alcohol sets a very poor example."