Bartow Police Make Arrests in Shooting, Beating Of Elderly Couple

BARTOW, FL --- Bartow Police have charged two men with the robbing and beating an elderly couple and shooting one of them in the leg.

Police were called to a shooting in the 1900 block of South Floral Avenue near the Polk County School District Administration offices and Mosaic Park on Jan. 15 at about 5:30 a.m.

There, they found a 69-year-old woman who had been severely beaten and shot in the leg.

She’d been taking her regular early-morning walk with her 88-year-old friend, who was also beaten.

The couple told police that, while they were walking near the park, a white car pulled up onto the sidewalk east of Floral Avenue and three men emerged. One was armed with a semi-automatic handgun. They demanded the couple hand over their property.

The victims gave them the items they had on hand including a firearm and a cell phone. Nevertheless, the robbers began kicking and hitting them, shooting the woman in the leg before getting back in the car and driving off.

Upon canvassing the area, detectives retrieves surveillance video from a nearby convenience store. The video showed a car similar to the one described by the victims approaching and leaving the Mosaic Park area. It also showed two men entering the convenience store minutes before the robbery.

Two of the people in the car were later identified as Stanley Smith Jr. and Felipe Fernandez. Police say both have criminal records and are suspects in recent burglaries, auto thefts and robberies in Polk County, Lake Wales and Winter Haven.

On Wednesday, Jan. 17, Bartow Police detectives caught up with Fernandez who admitted to committing the armed robbery near Mosaic Park with Smith and two other people. He also said he was involved in other armed robberies in Winter Haven.

Later that evening, detectives found Smith at his home in Lake Wales, who confirmed that he and Fernandez robbed and beat the elderly couple . He also confirmed the identities of the two other people in the car with them.

Both men have been arrested and charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery of an elderly person.

Additionally, Fernandez was charged with violation of probation on an unrelated burglary charge. At the time of his arrest, Smith was out on bond on a grand theft charge by Lake Wales Police.

Bartow Police say more arrests are imminent.

The 69-year-old woman has been discharged from Lakeland Regional Hospital and is recovering from her injuries.

Photo via Bartow Police