county Bartow: Latest News

(Adairsville Police) ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. - After a months-long investigation, police in Adairsville have charged a man with molesting, raping, and impregnating a 12-year-old girl.Officials say the investigation began after the victim was discovered to be pregnant in November.

BARTOW, Fla. - A Florida teacher was suspended, reassigned to a different school and now faces charges after being accused of biting two students over a jar of pickles. A spokesperson with Polk County Public Schools in Bartow, Florida, said a complaint affidavit of two counts of battery was filed against Rhonda Rice, who used to be a teacher at Bartow Middle School.The school district said last November, two students reported that Rice bit their arms as they tried to grab a jar of pickles away from her. Rice told the school district she was "playing both students over the jar of pickles" and when they grabbed it, she "licked their arms to get them off."RELATED: Prince William County teacher charged after alleged assault against studentOne of those students is Kathy Toro’s 15-year-old nephew.

BARTOW, Fla. - A contract worker assigned to be the spotter for heavy equipment coming in and out of a Polk County landfill was crushed by a bulldozer while using a porta-potty, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.Deputies say a heavy equipment operator, who was also a CertiTemp contract employee, was operating a bulldozer at the landfill while Aaron Henderson,40, was assigned as a "spotter," meaning he was tasked with being on the ground, providing traffic control to incoming and outgoing dump trucks dumping trash within the landfill. Deputies say around 5:10 p.m., the end of a regular workday, the bulldozer driver began to drive his assigned bulldozer up an embankment towards a "heavy equipment staging area" to park his bulldozer for the end of the day. While doing so, the front blade of his bulldozer was elevated 3-4 feet off the ground, and he could not see directly in front of him due to the blade obstructing his view, according to PCSO. Deputies say the driver went up the embankment towards the staging area, and once on level ground, he began to turn his bulldozer and heard a loud crumble.

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga - A fire destroyed a Bartow County business over the weekend.  Everything was burned, except the American flag that was flying out front.

BARTOW, Fla. - Polk County deputies said an argument between a 31-year-old suspect and the father of the underage girl he was dating led up to a deadly shooting on Friday morning.Deputies responded to a home in the area of Transport Road and Spruce Road in Bartow around 5:49 a.m. Friday.

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – An argument between a couple escalated into a man killing his girlfriend and shooting their roommate as that woman tried to protect her, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.Deputies said 33-year-old Christopher Pequeen and his girlfriend recently moved into an apartment in Bartow along with another man and a woman who are in a relationship with each other.On Sunday morning, Pequeen and his girlfriend got into an argument and that woman went into the other couple’s room and told them that “she was scared that Pequeen was going to kill her and that he had held his hand over her nose and mouth so that she could not breathe,” a news release said.[TRENDING: Eta drenches Florida | 2 killed in Orange County crash | Bi

BARTOW, Fla. – Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a 26-year-old man charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of three friends who had gathered at a central Florida lake in July for some late night fishing. The State Attorney’s Office filed its intent to seek the death penalty for Tony “T.J.” Wiggins Jr.

BARTOW, Fla. – A grand jury has formally charged a 26-year-old man with three counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of three friends who had gathered at a Central Florida lake in July for some late night fishing. Prosecutors have 45 days to determine whether to seek the death penalty for Tony “T.J.” Wiggins Jr., following the grand jury’s findings.

Kimberly Anne Roberts ( Bartow County Sheriff's Office )

BARTOW, Fla. – One Bartow company is doing its part to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic by transforming a surplus of mattresses into face masks.

BARTOW, Fla. – A Florida jail inmate was beaten to death over a food debt by two other inmates, officials said.