A 3 a.m. disturbance call in Mulberry turned into a K9-and-drone hunt early Thursday, ending with the arrest of 39-year-old Jeremy Alan Miller after he allegedly fled from a home where neighbors reported a physical fight, according to the Polk County Sheriff.
In a post on X, Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies were dispatched just before 3 a.m. to a Mulberry residence for a report of a physical disturbance. He wrote that K9 Obi picked up the trail after Miller took off and that a drone operator spotted a heat source where the suspect was hiding, according to Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd. Judd noted that neither the deputy nor the police dog was hurt.
How Deputies Found Him
After Miller allegedly ran from the scene, deputies set up a perimeter around the area and deployed K9 Obi to start tracking, the sheriff said. The drone operator then picked up a heat signature that led officers to Miller's hiding spot.
As deputies moved in to arrest him, Miller grabbed both the police dog and a deputy, according to the sheriff. Despite the scuffle, Judd said Obi and the deputy were not injured. In his post, Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd also listed the charges the agency plans to seek.
Charges And The Law
According to the sheriff's post, Miller faces charges that include battery by strangulation, simple battery, battery on a law-enforcement officer, battery on a police canine, resisting with violence and resisting without violence.
Under Florida law, battery by strangulation is a third-degree felony, and crimes against police canines are separately criminalized. Those statutes appear in the state code at the Florida Statutes on strangulation and the Florida Statutes on police canines. Third-degree felonies generally carry potential prison time and fines - for general context, see FindLaw's summary of state penalties.
Booking And Next Steps
The sheriff's post says Miller was taken to the Polk County Sheriff's Processing Center for booking, and the agency's online directory confirms that facility handles county bookings.
The investigation remains active, and prosecutors will decide what formal charges to file based on the evidence. The sheriff's office has not yet released additional public records related to the case. For facility information, see the Polk County Sheriff's Office contact page.
