POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A “notorious” Florida leader of the “Sex Money Murder” gang accused of running a large-scale operation has been arrested, according to the Polk County sheriff.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday gave an update to a yearlong investigation that is a follow-up to a “Sex Money Murder” gang racketeering investigation first announced in 2022.
Hernando Thompson, 40, was arrested and following a wiretap investigation, Judd said deputies served six search warrants, seized $1.5 million in drugs, seized 18 firearms and ballistic armor as a result of a wiretap investigation.
During the wiretap, Thompson gave permission for one person to murder another, the sheriff said.
“This is a bad man, and he needs to go to prison for a long time,” Judd said.
Uthmeier said Thompson faces five life sentences. He is booked in the Polk County jail on charges of conspiracy to racketeer and directing criminal gang activity.
“Our prosecutors in court will be pushing to ensure that he does not have an opportunity to ever be released again. We want him behind bars for the rest of his life. We want to send a message. If you engage in this type of violence, if you run drugs and guns and violent behavior in the communities, you are going to pay the price,” he said.
In April 2022, Judd announced that 41 suspects in the gang faced charges.
According to Judd, Polk and its neighboring counties experienced a string of home invasion robberies and other violent crimes associated with members of “Sex Money Murder” from 2018-20, including two shooting deaths that the sheriff singled out as examples of why the investigation was necessary.
“Those were the first two cases in over a decade that our homicide team was not able to solve. Do you know why? No one’s talking. They’re either gang-related and/or they’re scared to death of the gangsters,” Judd said in 2022.