Polk County suspect accused of killing woman, raping another was extradited back to Florida
Booking image for Taiwan Blandin (Polk County Sheriff's Office)
FROSTPROOF, Fla. - The man who detectives said went on a crime spree in October – murdering a woman and raping another woman – was extradited to Polk County after he was arrested in Atlanta nearly three months ago.
Polk County detectives said 30-year-old Taiwan Blandin of Frostproof was booked into the county jail Saturday.
Sheriff Grady Judd said his crime spree began on the morning of October 1 when broke into the first victim’s home in Fort Meade. The victim said she woke up to find Blandin standing naked. He allegedly said he was going to rape her, but she resisted, detective said at the time.
That's when Blandin allegedly pulled a knife, held it to her throat, and raped her. The victim said Blandin grabbed two handguns and two shotguns from her home, bound her wrists and ankles, wrapped her in a blanket, put her in the backseat of her own car.
Detectives said she told them they drove toward Frostproof, turning down dirt roads. They finally stopped at a dirt path where she said Blandin got out of the vehicle and opened a gate. They drove through to a mobile home. She said Blandin got out, knocked on the door, and spoke an elderly woman, and went inside the mobile home with her.
The victim said she had been trying to remove the bindings from her arms and legs and, when Blandin went inside the mobile home, she broke free, got in the front seat, and took off, detectives said. The victim told deputies Blandin had taken her cell phone, so she drove back to her home and asked a neighbor to use the phone to call for help.
Soon after, the victim said Blandin sped up driving a red Chevy Cruze and opened fire. An 81-year-old neighbor of the first victim was shot in the foot.
When detectives spoke to the two victims, the first victim realized she knew Blandin. She told them Blandin and her ex-boyfriend once attended school together.
Once investigators figured out where Blandin had taken the victim and whose car he was driving, they rushed to the mobile home where the first victim escaped. When they arrived, there was smoke coming from the home.
Inside, they found the body of an 80-year-old woman, identified by neighbors to FOX 13 as Peggy Shiering, who was shot in the stomach and in the head.
Blandin was captured by mid-October in Atlanta.