POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Tampa man is behind bars after a lengthy tracking operation involving a Polk County Sheriff’s Office K9 team ended in a physical struggle in a wooded area early Thursday morning.
The incident began during the early morning hours of May 28, when the Bartow Police Department began searching for 26-year-old Jose Daniel Villa. According to law enforcement, Villa had allegedly committed a battery at a residence and fled the scene before officers arrived. At the time of the search, Villa also had an active arrest warrant stemming from an aggravated assault incident on March 11.
Because the alleged battery took place in the Wind Meadows South neighborhood off of EF Griffin Road, Bartow Police requested assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to set up a perimeter and locate the suspect…