Jonathan Granados — a 16-year-old from Lakeland, Florida — is not an unfamiliar face to law enforcement in the area.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the youngster has a carjacking conviction under his belt and was on a conditional release when he recently perpetrated a number of new felonies.
‘If he’s Superman, then my detectives are his kryptonite.’
The sheriff’s office said it got a call on April 2 from a roofing business indicating that employees found spent shell casings on the ground.
Officials said a review of the company’s security video showed a silver Chevrolet Malibu arriving and parking, after which an unidentified male approached the car on foot and shot at it multiple times until the driver fled in the vehicle. The suspect then ran away, officials said.
Detectives were able to identify the driver of the Malibu as a 19-year-old from Lakeland, officials said.
On April 9, deputies stopped the Malibu, and detectives responded to the traffic stop to interview the 19-year-old, who lied and said his car was shot when it was parked at his home while he was sleeping, authorities said.
The 19-year-old made several inconsistent statements regarding why his car was hit with so many gunshots, until he was told about the roofing business’ security video, officials said, adding that he admitted to being at the roofing business when the shooting occurred.
He told detectives that he arrived in the area to fight with someone but wouldn’t divulge the name of the individual, officials said.
Image source: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
Investigating detectives obtained search warrants for the Malibu and the 19-year-old’s cell phone and social media accounts, officials said, adding that authorities determined that on the date of the shooting, the victim was headed to Granados’ house before diverting due to a law enforcement presence. Instead, the victim went to the roofing company and told Granados to meet him there, officials said.
Granados also was identified as being part of an Instagram chat that law enforcement said was related to meeting up for the fight.
The sheriff’s office said an affidavit indicates Granados used “ambush tactics” while approaching the victim’s car and firing a gun “in an attempt to kill” the victim; in addition, the affidavit adds that Granados’ shots hit the silver Chevrolet Malibu which the victim “occupied,” according to authorities.
With that, detectives went to Granados’ home to take him into custody on a warrant and during a search found a loaded Glock model 19 9mm handgun with an extended magazine containing 28 rounds — and modified with a “switch” that illegally gives it a fully automatic firing capability, officials said.
Granados admitted to owning the gun, ordering the switch online, and installing it himself, authorities noted, adding that the affidavit also says Granados told detectives he “felt like Superman” when he fired the gun.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had the following to say about the teen’s “Superman” reference: “If he’s Superman, then my detectives are his kryptonite.”
Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff Grady JuddImage source: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
Officials said Granados was charged with the following felonies:
- Attempted first-degree murder
- Shooting into an occupied vehicle
- Shooting into a building
- Possession of a machine gun
- Possession of a firearm/ammunition by an adjudicated juvenile
- Giving false information to law enforcement
Authorities added that Granados also was charged with two misdemeanors: discharging a firearm in public and violation of probation.
The sheriff’s office on Friday told Blaze News that Granados is being housed in a section of Polk County Jail reserved for juveniles — or “pre-adjudicated youth.”
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