Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd Wears $50,000 Seized Gold Jewelry

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd walked onto a podium on Aug. 22 wearing a gold chain and matching bracelet that law enforcement says were seized from Nathaniel “Nate” Donald during a yearlong drug investigation called Operation Capital City Crackdown. The display came as Judd announced a multi-agency sweep that resulted in 32 arrests and a murder indictment in Bartow, Florida.

The sheriff did more than wear the jewelry. Video posted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and shared on YouTube shows Judd holding up the seized guns and displaying photos of suspects, using visual evidence to underscore the probe’s reach. The investigation, which law enforcement says began in August 2024, involved six wire intercepts and eight search warrants, and agencies including the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Drug Unit and the U.S. Border Patrol participated in the operation.

Authorities reported $50,000 in gold jewelry and, according to Polk County statements cited in local coverage, roughly $150,000 in illegal drugs were recovered during the effort. BET’s reporting adds that the 32 arrestees together had a combined record of 554 felonies and 394 misdemeanors. Among the defendants named in public accounts are Nathaniel Donald, identified as the alleged leader, and Bryan “B” Myrick, who faces charges including conspiracy to sell cocaine and trafficking methamphetamine, fentanyl, and MDMA.

Judd tied the seized luxury to tangible harm. He spoke bluntly about overdose and violence at the Aug. 22 presser: “I got their drip. I got their money. We got their guns. We got their dope.” He continued, “These people will never stop selling dope if they’re not locked up and people die.” Fox News captured a more intimate recounting of one overdose victim, saying Judd described Irene Anderson, 65, collapsing on her way to church and added, “She was walking out of her house to church when she collapsed. So, she died so Nate could have this drip. Did you hear what I said? He’s buying this drip from selling drugs to people on the streets, one of which died.”

As a piece of evidence, the $50,000 valuation signals something more than ornamentation: it became a prop in a narrative linking visible wealth and illegal enterprise. Coverage characterized Judd’s gesture in predictable terms for his public persona: “no-nonsense,” “tough talking,” and given to theatrical displays, descriptions used by local outlets to explain why a sheriff would literally don confiscated gold at a press event.

The public record now turns to court filings and asset inventories for specifics: the formal charges against Donald and Myrick, the murder indictment in Bartow, and any civil forfeiture paperwork that would list the jewelry and other seized property. For now, the chain and bracelet remain part of the evidence tableau the Polk County Sheriff’s Office presented on Aug. 22, a glittering intersection of craft, commodity, and criminal allegation that will be parsed in courtrooms as the investigation proceeds.