Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd admonished eight visiting juveniles allegedly caught stealing while their hometown media earned its own shame for shielding their identities.
(Video Credit: Polk Sheriff)
Saturday in Davenport, Florida, the Prolifix Sportz National Championship featured the Coco Tigers competing against the United Thoroughbreds. However, the football team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was short eight players who instead were said to have traveled to a Dick’s Sporting Goods store where they allegedly tried to make off with over $2,000 worth of merchandise.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, where he identified each of the teens under 15 years old, Judd bluntly asserted, “I don’t know if these all were starters or not, but I can tell you that we were finishers.”
Because they were charged with felonies, Florida state statute permits their identities to be made public record. PCSO identified the juveniles as Mark Bryan, Marcus Hudgens, Daimon Johnson, Jacob Scott, Tymir Speller — each 15 years old — Mahdee Abdul Haqq, Elijah Meyers, and Tymir Smith — each 14 years old.
#BUSTED Instead of warming up on the field prior to the ACYAA national championship tournament here in #Polk, 8 players from this Philadelphia 14U football team went to @DICKS in #Davenport and stole over $2,200 worth of merch. They were caught in the act. They let their team… pic.twitter.com/UQxQXGXxAZ
— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) December 8, 2025
During the press conference, the sheriff held up a poster listing dozens of items stolen from the store along with their prices, including $70 football gloves, $25.99 lip guards, as well as hoodies and joggers exceeding $110. At the time of the theft, contact from a manager had given law enforcement ample time to position themselves outside to stop the alleged thieves.
He also called out their coach as the “ultimate loser” after sharing his response to the question, “Don’t you have anything better to do than arrest these kids?”
“Listen, I don’t know how you do things in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but in Polk County, Florida, we lock you up for stealing; for being a thief,” said Judd who decried effort to see the charges dropped and went on to insist, “If you’d been coaching these kids up right, if you knew where they were, if you didn’t allow them to Uber away, they would have played in a ballgame Saturday night.”
Adding his own take on the arrests, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on X, “They picked the wrong state — and the wrong county.”
Meanwhile, as Judd anticipated, the group he dubbed the “Thoroughbred Thieves” would be making another trip to Polk County when the time came for court appearances “to be held accountable for their criminal conduct,” and reminded, “If you don’t steal, we’re your new best friends. If you steal, we’re your worst enemy. Merry Christmas.”
WPVI faced backlash for choosing to blur out the faces of the alleged thieves.
Sharing clips of the sheriff’s press conference, the outlet obscured the surveillance footage and the poster held up by Judd that featured the identities of the eight teen suspects. In response, social media users slammed WPVI along with Philadelphia’s soft-on-crime District Attorney Larry Krasner (D), reminding, “Let em loose Larry can’t help them in Florida.”
Why are you blurring out their faces?
— Drew Peabawls (@Drew_Peabawls2) December 9, 2025
Here channel 6, since you’re afraid to show the faces of these criminals pic.twitter.com/6kKwLnzeus
— Ralph Wilson (@RalphWi85175797) December 9, 2025
Philly keeping it classy …. SMH
— Jman (@Jman80152) December 9, 2025
No idea why 6abc is blocking their pictures. Here are the thieves. Let em loose Larry can’t help them in Florida. pic.twitter.com/gBsDIafdpF
— Jim Swanson (@JimSwan20138530) December 9, 2025
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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