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Grady Judd: Polk County man shot, killed by deputies after pointing gun at them, killing wife

By and FOX 13 News Staff
Published  October 23, 2024 8:08pm EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

Woman dead, man killed by deputy

Briona Arradondo reports

HAINES CITY, Fla. - Polk County deputies shot and killed a man accused of pointing his gun at them and killing his own wife at a home in Haines City. 

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said 41-year-old Adayn Rodriguez threatened to take his own life and also kill his wife, 35-year-old Karla Rodriguez. He made the threats to his brother, who then called law enforcement. 

Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene, located in the 2000 block of Slocumb Road in unincorporated Haines City, and tried to deescalate the situation. However, the suspect came out onto the second-floor balcony of the home he was in and pointed a gun at one of the deputies. 

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Previous booking photo for Adayn Rodriguez. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Adayn then went back inside the home, and deputies spent about an hour continuing to try to deescalate. During that time, Adayn made several phone calls to 911 and even one of the deputies who responded to the scene. Judd said Adayn, who was a mechanic, had previously worked on the deputy's personal vehicle. 

That deputy also tried talking with Adayn to try and get the situation under control, according to the sheriff. The deputy also tried getting Karla out of the house, but officials said she wouldn't leave. 

"He told his brother, ‘You call law enforcement, I’m going to make them shoot me and kill me,’" said Judd. "And then, he told, I believe it was his brother on another occasion, ‘I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to kill her. But I’ve smoked a lot of meth, and it’s not going to hurt.'"

Grady Judd: Full briefing on deputy-involved shooting

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said a deputy shot and killed a man who pointed his gun at deputies and killed his own wife.

After an hour of deescalation, Judd said Adayn stepped back out onto the second-floor balcony, and once again, pointed his gun at one of the deputies. A PCSO lieutenant who responded to the incident fired one shot, hitting Adayn. 

The suspect then ran back into the house, and a team of deputies went inside. They confronted Adayn and shot him several more times, which killed him. 

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His wife was also found dead inside the home, authorities said. 

"We went there to rescue her and to deescalate the situation, and he pointed a gun at us. If you point a gun at us, we’re going to shoot you," said Judd.

Judd said Adayn made statements about being on meth during the incident. He and Karla have a prior criminal history, but Judd said they are still investigating his and his wife's past. 

PCSO said family members told them that Karla and Adayn had previous issues. They also had young kids, who were not inside the home when the deputy-involved shooting happened. 

The Tenth Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force will investigate the incident, which is standard protocol for deputy-involved shootings. 

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