On Monday afternoon, September 15, 2025, Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies arrested 34-year-old Matthew Wells of Auburndale after discovering two bags of marijuana in his vehicle during a proactive patrol at Westwood Park in Winter Haven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputies observed a white Lincoln sedan parked with all windows down and a man seated alone in the driver\u2019s seat. Upon approaching the vehicle, deputies immediately detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside. They asked Wells for his driver\u2019s license, at which point he presented a Florida ID card only. He then denied driving, although he was the sole occupant of the vehicle, and sitting in the driver\u2019s seat. Wells told deputies that he is a coach at a local prep academy in Auburndale, and admitted to having a prior arrest for marijuana possession. Editors Note<\/em><\/strong>: The prep academy advised he applied to a job posting and visited a couple practices, but was never a coach at the school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked if there was marijuana in the vehicle, Wells confirmed and handed over a small plastic bag containing a green leafy substance. He also stated he did not possess a medical marijuana card. Deputies then asked if there was more, and Wells produced a larger bag of marijuana from inside a trash bag located in the front passenger seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wells told deputies the marijuana belonged to him and his wife, and explained that he had recently been released from jail after serving a five-month sentence. He stated he \u201cjust wanted to smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wells was placed under arrest and transported to the Polk County Jail. He was charged with possession of cannabis (M1) and possession of drug paraphernalia (M1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a perfect example of someone who clearly hasn\u2019t learned from past mistakes. If you\u2019re going to break the law in Polk County, expect to be held accountable\u2014again and again if necessary.\u201d \u2013 Grady Judd, Sheriff<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Monday afternoon, September 15, 2025, Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies arrested 34-year-old Matthew Wells of Auburndale after discovering two bags of marijuana in his vehicle during a proactive patrol at Westwood Park in Winter Haven. Deputies observed a white Lincoln sedan parked with all windows down and a man seated alone in the driver\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":78968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33,159,16,17],"class_list":["post-78879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pcso","tag-arrest","tag-crime","tag-pcso","tag-polk-county-sheriffs-office"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_8786.jpg?fit=646%2C911&ssl=1","aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t