A 16-Year-Old’s Arrest in Florida: Details Unfold

Jonathan Granados, a 16-year-old from Lakeland, Florida, isn’t new to police attention.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, he has a previous conviction for carjacking. Even after being granted conditional releases, he has now found himself in deeper trouble with multiple new felonies.

The sheriff’s office reported that a call came in from a roofing company on April 2nd, concerning a shooting incident. They described how a Silver Chevrolet Malibu parked nearby, and an unknown individual shot several times at the driver, who narrowly escaped before the suspect fled the scene.

Investigators identified the Malibu driver as a 19-year-old from the same area. A traffic stop on April 9 led deputies to question this driver, who gave conflicting accounts about the shooting. After being confronted with security footage from the roofing company, the 19-year-old admitted to being there during the incident. He claimed he had gone to settle a dispute but refused to name his opponent.

Digging deeper, investigators obtained a search warrant for the Malibu and for the 19-year-old’s phone and social media. On the day of the shooting, the victim had changed plans to avoid law enforcement, opting to meet Granados at the roofing company instead.

Granados was linked to an Instagram chat that authorities believe was about the planned fight. The affidavit revealed that he approached the victim’s vehicle and used “ambush tactics” while shooting, aiming to kill. One of his shots struck the silver Chevrolet Malibu occupied by the victims.

When detectives visited Granados’s home, they arrested him on a warrant and discovered a loaded Glock Model 19 9mm handgun with an extended magazine holding 28 rounds. Reports indicate Granados had acquired the gun and claimed to feel “like a Superman” when he fired it.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd remarked on Granados’s “Superman” comment, saying, “If he’s a Superman, my detective is his Kryptonite.”

Granados faces serious charges:

• Attempted first-degree murder
• Shooting at an occupied vehicle
• Shooting at a building
• Possession of machine guns
• Possession of firearms and ammunition by a juvenile
• Providing false information to law enforcement

He is also charged with two misdemeanors related to firearms being discharged in public and violating probation. Currently, he is held in a section of the Polk County Jail designated for juveniles or young individuals.