Grady Judd vows to make more arrests on Lake Winterset after weekend ‘riot’: ‘Bring lots of bond money’

Grady Judd calls Lake Winterset incident a 'riot'

FOX 13's Carla Bayron has the latest after a fight broke out in Lake Winterset plus what Grady Judd had to say after the arrests were made.

LAKE WINTERSET, Fla. - Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says rowdy boaters pulling up to the ‘Point’ on Lake Winterset to fight, defecate and engage in sexual activity have ‘unleashed the teeth of the dog, and now it’s going to start biting you."

"This conduct is happening in the middle of the afternoon, in people’s yards, where they are trespassing, or on a boat, where they are standing in the water adjacent to people’s homes…the game’s over," Judd stated.

The backstory:

Judd says the Polk County Sheriff’s Office gets calls every weekend about incidents at the ‘Point," despite no trespassing signs. 

"We started out with education," Judd explained. "In addition to education, we tried to be friendly. We tried to coach. We tried to counsel. We plead. We begged. We did everything we could to get people to comply on the lakes, on the chain of lakes, specifically Lake Winterset, and even more specifically, an area they call the Point."

Recently, a video went viral showing a boat pulling up to the point with children on it and the music blaring. The video shows a group of people fighting and one person being knocked out.  

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Judd said eight people, who range in age from 17 to 40, were arrested in connection with the incident in the video. 

The sheriff stated that the people arrested were once friends, but they got into a fight in March at the El Rodeo bar in Polk County. 

He went on to say that they all ended up at the Point earlier this month and started fighting. 

According to Judd, the marine patrol will be out on the lake this weekend and will be making arrests for conduct they used just to try to offer education.  

What they're saying:

"We’re going to put people in jail this weekend for conduct we previously tried to warn you about," Judd vowed. "So, go home and get your bond money together right now. You can carry it in your pocket. It will help you get out of jail quicker. We’re going to take you to jail. But, also, bring enough money because we’re going to tow your truck. We’re going to tow your car. We’re going to tow your wave runners and lock ya’ll up until you figure out you can’t misbehave in the community. You cannot fight. You can’t knock people unconscious. It’s over, folks."

He added, "If you want to go knuckle-busting and create permanent brain injuries or create the ability to have a permanent brain injury, you can create brain injuries to each other, but you have to do it on your own property without creating a disturbance to your neighbors."

Judd said that there is currently a loophole at the ‘Point’, where as long as people have their feet in the water, they can be there, but they cannot be up on the land. 

"You put one toe on that land this weekend, you are going to jail," Judd explained. "You put your finger up on that dry land and you are going to jail. 

Local perspective:

R.J. Wells' parents live on the shoreline, and he says this kind of inappropriate behavior, including sexual behavior, has been happening for years.

"We can't even have my kids swim at their grandparents house or have them outside on the weekends with how bad or vulgar the music is," said Wells. "With the fights happening down there, it's only about time someone pulls a gun out or something like that."

"We want every one out on the lake but tie up and swim out on the lake like everyone has done forever," said Wells. "You shouldn't be in someone's backyard, so I can't say how thankful I am for the sheriff's office." 

What's next:

There is a plan in the works to make the area around the ‘Point’ a designated swim zone, which means boats will no longer be able to pull up to it.