Polk County men plead guilty to posing as law enforcement, targeting drug dealers, federal officials say
TAMPA, Fla. - Four Polk County men were accused of pretending to be law enforcement, targeting local drug dealers, and committing robberies from Hillsborough to Lee counties. Now, three are pleading guilty.
Prosecutors said 22-year-old Reginald Roberts of Lakeland; 28-year-old Nathaniel Keith Carr of Riverdale in Hernando County; and 22-year-old Chrishawn De’Earl Butler of Brooksville have each plead guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, and brandishing and discharging firearms in the commission of violent crimes. Sentencing dates have not been set, but each faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 14 to 21 years.
Investigators said – between December 2020 and April 2021 – all three, among others, focused on robbing people believed to be selling drugs. They wrote black clothing, and fake police vests, along with blue lights and sirens, and drove around in a black Dodge Durango and white Chevrolet Malibu equipped with blue lights and sirens.
In some instances, federal agents say the suspects fired their weapons during the robberies. At the time, they believed they were connected to at least five robberies.
Another individual, 28-year-old Jasmine Weber of Tampa, has pled guilty but hasn't been sentenced yet. Two others, Daniel Jackson and Darius Hudson, are scheduled to head to trial.