A 20-year-old man from Sanford is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after deputies say they caught him trying to break into a parked school bus at a Poinciana middle school late Wednesday night, then threatened to kill the deputy who confronted him. Luis Daniel Rosa was arrested around 10:22 pm at Lake Marion Creek Middle School following a report of suspicious activity on campus.
According to a post from Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on X, deputies were dispatched to the school after a witness saw a man trying to get into a parked school bus on the property. When deputies arrived, they located Rosa and detained him, but he refused to identify himself or explain why he was on school grounds, the sheriff's office said.
#ArrestedByThePolkCountySheriffsOffice - 20-year-old Luis Daniel Rosa from Sanford.
— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) August 14, 2026
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at around 10:22 pm, PCSO deputies were dispatched to Lake Marion Creek Middle school in Poinciana for a reported suspicious incident. A witness saw a man trying to… pic.twitter.com/eO0qRsUpYC
Lake Marion Creek Middle School, located at 3055 Lake Marion Creek Drive in Poinciana, serves more than 1,000 students in grades 6 through 8, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The confrontation came just one day after Polk County Public Schools opened for the 2026–27 academic year on Tuesday, adding an unsettling note for a community still settling back into the school routine.
Threats and Refusal to Cooperate
During the encounter, Rosa threatened to kill the deputy, per the sheriff's account. That threat led to one of the most serious charges filed against him: threatening a public servant, a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 838.021 that carries up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, per the Florida Senate.
Rosa was also charged with attempted burglary of a conveyance, another third-degree felony, for allegedly trying to force his way into the school bus. Under Florida Statutes § 810.02 and § 777.04, that charge can bring an additional five years in prison, according to legal definitions cited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
His refusal to identify himself and his unexplained presence on campus after dark also led to a loitering or prowling charge. Florida Statute § 856.021 makes loitering under circumstances that raise reasonable alarm a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail, particularly when a suspect declines to explain their presence to police, per FindLaw.
Additional Charges Stack Up
Deputies additionally charged Rosa with trespassing on school grounds, a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute § 810.097 that applies to anyone on campus without legitimate business or authorization, carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. He was also charged with resisting without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute § 843.02 covering non-violent obstruction of an officer performing a lawful duty, which can bring up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Rosa was transported to the Sheriff's Processing Center in Winter Haven, the central intake facility where all Polk County arrestees are booked and held. The sheriff's office also disclosed an extensive prior criminal history for Rosa, including residential burglary, possession of burglary tools, grand theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle, dealing in stolen property, aggravated assault, battery on a person over 65, battery on law enforcement, simple battery, and a violation of probation.
Miles From Home, Motive Still Unclear
Rosa lives in Sanford, a Seminole County city roughly 55 to 60 miles north of Poinciana, according to background compiled from Wikipedia. Why he was on a middle school campus in Polk County so far from home, and whether he was after tools, property, or something else inside the bus, remains unclear based on what has been publicly disclosed so far.
The case fits a familiar pattern for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, which routinely publicizes arrests complete with mugshots and detailed rap sheets under branded hashtags like #ArrestedByThePolkCountySheriffsOffice. Hoodline has covered a similar Poinciana arrest in June, and another case in February involved a suspect who also refused to identify himself and resisted deputies during a Poinciana investigation.
Rosa faces two felony counts and three misdemeanor counts stemming from Wednesday night's incident. As with any pending case, the charges represent allegations, and Rosa has not been convicted of any of them.
