WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — On Friday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd detailed the arrests of five men linked to a Venezuelan gang accused of committing numerous crimes across the central Florida area.

The five men arrested are accused of more than three dozen retail thefts across the central Florida area, with total losses estimated at over $30,000, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The sheriff’s office added that the following men are in the United States illegally:

• Samuel Oglis David Anthony Charle (25)
• Ildemaro Miguel Escalona Mendoza (26)
• Alexis Jose Rodriguez-Benavides (27)
• Darwins Smith Vasquez Leon (28)
• Ramon Jesus Carpintero-Luna (26)

All five have been charged with robbery, which the sheriff’s office says has been upgraded to a first-degree felony given their gang status. Rodriguez-Benavides and Charle are known Tren De Argua gang members, while the others are gang associates, according to the sheriff’s office.

Judd said that the investigation into the group’s alleged crimes began with a tip back in October. Then, in early March 2025, deputies received a call from a Sam’s Club in north Lakeland regarding a group of five people wo tried to steal a shopping cart filled with $3,200 worth of high-end liquor.

A woman who worked as a clerk at the store reportedly grabbed the cart to stop them, but the group rammed that cart into her.

“They actually robbed the clerk, injuring her hand,” Judd said. “They literally ran into her, injured her hand and fled.”

The clerk was able to keep the group from moving the cart any further, but they managed to grab two cases of liquor out of the cart before trying to get away in a silver Ford Focus, the agency said.

“The Focus became disabled as they tried to drive it over a concrete curb in the parking lot, and the suspects left it behind, fleeing the area on foot,” deputies stated in the release.

The group eventually called an Uber and left the area. Following an investigation with the Lakeland Police Department, deputies were able to identify the men and arrest them for robbery.

Rodriguez-Benavides, Vasquez Leon, and Carpintero-Luna were arrested Thursday night in Osceola County, according to the sheriff’s office. All five men reportedly have ICE detainers placed on them.

At one point during Friday’s presser, Judd presented a picture of Ramon Carpintero-Luna crying while being processed.

“This is the end of the road for him and his companions,” Judd said of the picture. “I hope he has his traveling clothes on.”

Right now, the sheriff’s office is working with the statewide prosecutor and the Department of Homeland Security to charge the five men accordingly.

The full presser can be viewed below: