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Lakeland HS assistant football coach arrested, accused of stealing $10,000+ worth of helmets from team

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Published  May 6, 2025 5:39pm EDT
Lakeland
FOX 13 News

HS assistant coach admits to stealing helmets from the team

FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

The Brief

    • An assistant football coach in Lakeland is accused of stealing helmets from the team.
    • Azadrean Yade, 23, admitted to stealing 36 helmets in all.
    • He tried selling them at Play it Again Sports shop in Lakeland.

LAKELAND, Fla. - A soon-to-be ex-assistant football coach at Lakeland High School is behind bars after deputies say he stole dozens of helmets from his own team.

The backstory:

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Azadrean Yarde, 23, stole 36 helmets from the football team.

The high school paid nearly $380 for each helmet, so they were all worth more than $13,000.

In April, the school district reached out to the sheriff's office to investigate after discovering missing helmets.

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According to the suspect's arrest affidavit, he was caught stealing the helmets on surveillance video at the school.

Yarde then made several trips to the Play It Again Sports Shop in Lakeland and in Brandon and sold each helmet for $100 or less--garnering less than $1,000.

What they're saying:

"He told them who he was and gave them a proper ID," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "He said he was an assistant football coach, and they were phasing out the helmets in favor of new helmets. It was a plausible story, but it was a lie."

The sheriff adds Play It Again Sports was able to return most of the helmets to the school, though seven were sold already.

Yarde has no criminal history and the sheriff says he confessed to this crime and admitted he was wrong.

"A bad decision can have severe consequences on your life," said Judd. "He's no longer an assistant football coach. He's no longer a janitor. He has felony charges against him. He's got to work though all because he wanted some extra money."

A spokesperson for the Polk County School District says Yarde was hired as a custodian in 2022 and has been an assistant coach with the football team this school year. They're in the process of terminating his employment and will be seeking restitution.

What's next:

Yarde is facing six felony charges, including grand theft, false verification of ownership, and dealing stolen property.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13 reporter Carla Bayron.

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