If you’ve never watched Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd deliver a crime briefing, you’re missing one of Florida’s great public services. Judd has spent years becoming something of a law enforcement folk hero, not because he sugarcoats crime stories, but because he tells them exactly the way regular people discuss them over coffee. He’s equal parts sheriff, storyteller, and exasperated father figure. When Judd starts a story by looking directly into the camera and sounding genuinely confused by human behavior, you know you’re about to hear something special.
This week’s entry into the Florida Hall of Fame for Terrible Decisions involves 48-year-old Gina Redding of Lake Wales. Judd introduced her to the public with a description that immediately told everyone where this story was headed.
“Occasionally, I tell you stories that you just can’t believe, but I want you to get a full look at a lady who I’m sure was born with all her brain cells, but she’s fried them all, and she’s operating on about two half cells.”
According to Judd, deputies had a road shut down while utility crews worked on power lines. Most drivers, when confronted with a patrol car blocking a road, make the reasonable assumption that they should probably turn around and find another route. Redding apparently looked at the same situation and arrived at a completely different conclusion. She simply drove around the deputy and continued down the closed roadway as if traffic laws were more of a suggestion than an actual rule.
Naturally, another deputy stationed at the opposite end of the closure stopped her and issued a citation. At that point, the story should have ended. She could have accepted the ticket, grumbled about it to friends later, and gone on with her day like millions of other Americans who have received traffic citations. Instead, she chose a path that can only be described as aggressively self-destructive.
Judd explained that after receiving the ticket, Redding became angry and began following the deputy who had cited her. Think about that for a moment. Following a police officer because you’re upset about getting a ticket is already a questionable life choice. But it gets better. Or worse, depending on your perspective.
According to the sheriff, she then called 911 because she was unhappy about receiving a traffic ticket.
“She decides, well, I’ll just dial 911 because I don’t like this traffic ticket.”
There is a certain childlike optimism in believing emergency dispatchers exist to mediate disputes between motorists and police officers. Unsurprisingly, deputies were not impressed.
A second stop followed. Additional violations were discovered. The situation escalated, and eventually she was arrested. Up to this point, the story is already ridiculous enough to earn a place in the Grady Judd archives. But this is where it takes the kind of turn that makes veteran deputies shake their heads and wonder what exactly is happening in the world.
During the inventory search of the vehicle before it was towed, deputies reportedly located marijuana. That alone probably wasn’t enough to explain the increasingly bizarre chain of events. The bigger surprise came later at the jail when standard intake procedures revealed something officers hadn’t initially discovered.
“We get her to the jail, and we put her through a scanning system. And guess what? Well, we find in her Virginia 28 bags of fentanyl.”
Twenty-eight bags.
At that point, the original traffic citation had become little more than a footnote in a much larger criminal case. Judd said Redding insisted she wasn’t dealing fentanyl, though the sheriff appeared skeptical.
“She says she doesn’t deal fentanyl, but it would certainly explain her conduct.”
Then came the line that only Grady Judd could deliver.
“So we didn’t visit Virginia any further. We just put her in jail.”
That’s Florida law enforcement storytelling at its finest.
Shout out to the honest tow companies and those who work for them here in our county. Markus is not one of them. #PolkSheriff #GradyJudd #MorningBriefing pic.twitter.com/GdJ3A1Wx9L
— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) June 23, 2026
