Felon shot, killed by deputies after beating elderly man with brick, Polk sheriff says

LAKELAND, Fla. – A deputy-involved shooting broke out in Lakeland on Wednesday, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

In a release, deputies said the shooting happened along Saturn Street, though the released details about the shooting were scarce.

However, the sheriff’s office confirmed that no deputies were injured, and the suspect involved was transported by first responders.

Later Wednesday evening, the sheriff’s office identified the suspect as 41-year-old Kentae Govan.

“He spent over half of his life in the Florida prison system,” Polk Sheriff Grady Judd explained. “You might ask, ‘My goodness, what did he do?’ He sexually battered a child.”

During a news briefing, Judd said that Govan spent 16 years behind bars before being released on probation. And after failing to register, he went back to prison for an additional seven years, Judd added.

But recently, Govan began living in the community at what Judd dubbed a group “Cho-Mo House.”

“A child molester house,” Judd clarified.

Shortly after 3 p.m., the sheriff’s office received a 911 call about a man — later identified as Kentae — beating an elderly man in the head with a brick, Judd said.

According to Judd, another woman shoved Govin off of the victim, though he soon began chasing her.

“He chased our second victim into a shed, where he beat her up and stole her cellphone because she said she was calling 911,” Judd said. “He said over and over, ‘I am not going back to prison. They will have to kill me.’”

Deputies later arrived at the scene, telling Govin to “throw down the brick,” but he refused, instead approaching the deputies, according to the sheriff.

“They attempted to Tase him, two of them did,” Judd continued. “One of our witnesses said he just pulled the Taser out and continued to charge at the deputies.”

[BELOW: Watch the full news conference with Polk Sheriff Grady Judd]

As a result, Judd said, two deputies fired a total of six shots at Govin, who was brought down by the gunfire. He was later taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

“He was erratic and out-of-control and they said had been sleeping very little this week,” the sheriff stated. “It’s very early in the investigation. We don’t know whether he was on drugs or not.”

Judd also said that witnesses reported there was no fight in advance. Instead, they had apparently been sitting on the porch of the home when Govin became angry and started attacking the elderly man.

“Based upon the early information, this was clearly a suicide by cop,” Judd posited.