‘We killed him graveyard dead’: Grady Judd details shooting that left suspect dead, 2 deputies hurt

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WFLA) — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd gave an update Monday on a deputy-involved shooting that left a suspect dead and two deputies injured.

Judd identified the suspect as a Moorish sovereign citizen who went by the name Kmac El Bey. His birth name on his California driver’s license is Kyran Caples.

“Recently, Moorish sovereign citizens have engaged in violent confrontations with law enforcement,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center . The movement began in the early 1990s.

Deputies found El Bey in a car at a park and tried to approach him, Judd said. The man wouldn’t cooperate with deputies.

Deputies grabbed the window when the car started rolling and El Bey fired five shots, Judd said. Lt. Chad Anderson was shot in the arm. The bullet became lodged near his heart. The sheriff said Anderson was fractions of an inch away from being paralyzed or killed.

Anderson is in critical but stable condition, Judd said.

Deputy Craig Smith was shot twice in the arm, according to Judd. He was in critical condition but has since been upgraded to a different floor.

Deputies found three guns in the car, including the one used to shoot at the deputies, and another that was a Ruger 10/22 converted into an AR-15. Judd said that modification is legal.

Officials are unsure where the guns came from, because Florida law doesn’t require guns to be registered. But Judd noted that the guns were not listed as stolen and El Bey was not a convicted felon and had a right to own the guns.

El Bey was hit eight times when the deputies returned fire. The deputies fired 38 shots, Judd said.

“He shot my deputies and then we killed him graveyard dead,” Judd said. “He had to know that was coming.”

El Bey had a suspended driver’s license but had no criminal history.

Judd said law enforcement occasionally runs into Moorish sovereign citizens, frequently at traffic stops. He said that had El Bey cooperated, he likely would’ve just been given a ride home and probably not even cited.

“He was not a problem until he made himself a problem,” Judd said.

The deputies who were shot are expected to be recovering for several months. The suspect’s mother wants to fly out and visit the deputies so she can apologize for her son shooting them, Judd said.

Judd said the suspect’s mother is “a wonderful lady” and “totally in shock.” The sheriff said El Bey had become more radicalized over the last three years.

The deputies are expected to be recovering for several months. Anyone who would like to donate can visit the Polk County Sheriff’s Office website and the money will be split between the two deputies.

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