Uber driver shot, killed by Polk deputies after racking stolen gun in vehicle: PCSO
Uber driver with stolen gun killed by deputies: PCSO
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd gives an update on an Uber driver who was shot and killed by deputies after they say he rammed their patrol vehicles and racked a stolen gun.
LAKELAND, Fla. - A license plate reader in Polk County led deputies to a suspect with an outstanding probation violation warrant before a confrontation ended in a fatal shooting, according to the sheriff.
Polk County police investigation
What we know:
Deputies said they found 46-year-old Larry Riles in a dark blue Chevy Captiva parked in front of a Subway near Walbash and Memorial Boulevard. Riles, an Uber driver whose vehicle carried an Uber sign in the windshield, backed into a parking spot to hide his license plate after noticing deputies in the area, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. The sheriff added that three deputies blocked the vehicle in and ordered Riles to exit multiple times, but he refused and began rolling the car forward. Deputies said they broke out the darkly tinted windshield, attempted to use a taser, and tried to de-escalate the situation while Riles continued resisting and rammed a patrol car in an attempt to escape.
Lakeland stolen gun discovery
The backstory:
When the vehicle could not move the patrol car, Judd said that Riles reached into the backseat and began to rack a round into a semi-automatic 9mm handgun. The firearm had been reported stolen from a vehicle in Lakeland on June 24, according to Judd. The sheriff said as Riles raised the weapon toward deputies, three officers fired at him, neutralizing the threat. Deputies said they immediately pulled Riles from the car and initiated life-saving measures, but he died at the scene.
Criminal history and probation
By the numbers:
Riles, according to PCSO, was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in 2007 by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. On October 27, 2025, he was arrested for grand theft by the PCSO, and on March 20, 2026, he was arrested for violation of probation after failing a probation-mandated drug test. He was released on April 14, 2026. He was currently on probation and had a current warrant for his arrest for violation of probation, the sheriff said.
Judd noted that automated license plate readers assist law enforcement by scanning license plate numbers faster than an officer can manually enter data into a computer.
Deputies training kicked in
What they're saying:
"Larry Renaldo Riles asked today to be shot, and we obliged him," Judd said. "These deputies didn’t come to work today to get into a gunfight, but they were trained, and they were ready, and they are going to go home safe tonight, and Larry chose that."
"If you try to attack our deputies with a firearm, we’re going to shoot you. We’re going to shoot you a lot, but that’s not our choice, that’s your choice," Judd stated.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who explained the details of the investigation and law enforcement's use of license plate readers during a press briefing.