Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a residence in the area of Tanglewood Street and Combee Road, west of Lakeland, in the evening hours of Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
At around 9:21 pm, it was reported that a man had repeatedly punched and choked a person, and had also taken the victim’s cell phone when the victim tried to call 911 for help.
The suspect was identified as 38-year old Michael Joshua Stammer of Lakeland, and he fled the scene in a blue 2014 Toyota sedan.
A PCSO deputy located the vehicle a short time later, and followed behind inconspicuously until additional units got to the area. When Stammer stopped his vehicle for a red light at US 98 and CR540A, the units quickly moved to box-in the Toyota to keep Stammer from fleeing…