Sheriff Grady Judd sheds light on deadly gunfight with ‘sovereign citizen’ that injured 2 Polk County deputies
LAKELAND, Fla. - Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd provided more details after a man claiming to be a ‘sovereign citizen’ was killed early Saturday morning by deputies who say he opened fire on them, seriously injuring both, as they were investigating a suspicious vehicle at a county park.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was investigating a suspicious vehicle in Hunt Fountain Park shortly after midnight because there had been a string of burglaries in the area, including one at the park's concession stand.
Judd says the deputy, who had a trainee with her, called for backup when the man in the white Mercedes refused to cooperate. She said the man was dressed in all in white and appeared to be in religious garb instead of street clothes.
Judd says Lt. Chad Anderson and Deputy Craig Smith arrived at the scene and told the man he had to identify himself and speak with authorities, but he wouldn't. That's when, according to the sheriff, the suspect's car started rolling away. The deputies grabbed the window and the suspect opened fire, according to PCO.
Judd said the suspect shot five times, striking Anderson in the left arm. The bullet went through his arm and into his chest cavity, lodging between his heart and spinal column.
"He was fractions of an inch from either being paralyzed from the chest down, or being killed if it had gone into his heart or struck any of those major arteries in that area," Judd said.
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Judd says Anderson was able to fire twice before he went down.
Smith, who was shot twice in his right arm, was not able to return fire, according to Judd.
However, PCSO says another deputy on the scene and a K9 deputy shot at the suspect.
"It was a gunfight. There were 38 shots fired. We hit the suspect eight times, and he was immediately deceased," Judd stated.
Lt. Deputy Chad Anderson next to Deputy Craig Smith. Image is courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
According to Judd, the suspect has since been identified as 26-year-old Kyran Caples, who went by Kmac El Bey.
"That’s the name he has taken on because he identifies as Moorish. He used the number 13 lionhearted on his Florida driver’s license. Beside his signature on his license he had written ARR, all rights reserved.," Judd said.
Judd went on to say that the suspect was homeless and had recently been evicted from Hillsborough County and was recently asked to leave a business area in Pinellas County last month.
Grady Judd said the shooting suspect identified as Kmac El Bey.
When investigators contacted the suspect's mother she said she didn't know Kmac El Bey. Instead, she said she knows Kyran Caples, her son. She told investigators that he went to Fresno State to study business and left after three years.
"He was apparently radicalized at Fresno State," Judd explained.
Judd went on to say that his mother said she raised her son as a Christian boy who was a good man.
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"So the person that his mother knew and loved, she hadn’t seen him in three years, since he left California, that’s where she lives, until we got that fateful call," Judd said. "She had talked to him and communicated with him and had, on occasion, sent him money when he needed help, but she said she doesn’t know who this Kmac El Bey is, but that’s what he goes by now."
Judd said that investigators found a 9mm gun and two loaded magazines in the door of Caples' car.
In the backseat, investigators say he had a Ruger 1022 converted to an AR-15. In a backpack, Judd said deputies found a fully loaded 40mm handgun.
"So he could have had a small gun battle with what he had alone," Judd shared.
Polk Co. Sheriff Grady Judd shows the weapons found in the suspect's car.
Judd explained that Moorish sovereign citizens are known to believe that federal law, state law, local laws do not apply to them. They are known to resist law enforcement and there is a history where they shoot police officers.
"In addition to their violent activity, they are known for trying to file paperwork. For example, they have filed an arrest warrant for me in the Moorish world with a $1M bond as well as some of my other deputies," Judd said.
He noted that law enforcement officers often arrest Moorish citizens, but they don’t publicize them because they don’t want to market for them.
The sheriff said Lt. Anderson has been with the sheriff’s office for 26 years and is in critical but stable condition after undergoing two emergency surgeries.
Smith was in critical, but stable condition on Saturday, but he has since been upgraded and moved out of the intensive care unit.
Judd noted that the suspect's mother wants to meet with the injured deputies and apologize for what her son did.
"That’s a good person. She understands the gravity of what occurred," Judd said.
Judd added that he does not believe the Caples is responsible for the recent burglaries in the area that prompted an increased law enforcement presence at the park. He noted that if the suspect cooperated, at most, he would have received a citation for being in the park after hours.
"He had time to think about it while back up was coming. We didn’t rush him. We didn’t push him. We talked to him. We tried to communicate with him and he wasn’t having it. He was Moorish. He was a sovereign citizen. He didn’t have to adhere to the laws of the state of Florida or the United States. And then he shot my deputies, and then we killed him graveyard dead," Judd said. "He had to know that was coming. There was a legion of deputies around him trying to get him to cooperate. He chose for us to shoot him. He made that decision and we obliged him."
Judd said the deputies will have months of recovery ahead of them.
Anyone who would like to donate to the deputies can visit PolkSheriff.org/Donate.
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