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Lakeland Man Arrested For Stealing From Guy He Played Pickleball With

Author Cort Freeman
Lakeland Man Arrested For Stealing From Guy He Played Pickleball With (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A Lakeland, Florida man has been arrested after stealing from a guy he was playing pickleball with! You have to be careful who you compete against.

You never expect to be robbed by someone you’re playing pickleball with! You’re out there having fun together and bonding and little do you know they have bigger plans than winning that set. If you think the sound of pickleball is annoying and frustrating, imagine getting robbed by someone you’re playing with!

Florida Man Arrested For Stealing From Guy He Played Pickleball With

If you haven’t played before, pickleball is so much fun! It’s like tennis but doesn’t require as much skill and anybody can play! It’s much easier to learn and can be fun for the whole family. It doesn’t require a lot of running or athletic skill, so anybody from grandma to children can play. It’s getting really popular and courts are being installed all over the country. There’s never been a better time to get involved in your local pickleball scene. Of course, you still have to be careful and watch your stuff, apparently.

According to FOX 13 News, 53-year-old Jason Lafferty was arrested and charged with grand theft, criminal use of personal identification, and more after allegedly stealing a phone and wallet from someone he had just played pickleball with! Oh, the betrayal! FOX 13 reports that the victim was playing at Kelly Recreation Complex on Imperial Boulevard when his phone and wallet were stolen. A little more than an hour later, his credit card had already been used at five different places! It was later determined that Lafferty had played the sport with the victim and then took their property and left the scene!

You can see his mugshot provided by the Lakeland Police Department below. Don’t let this incident keep you from trying the expanding sport! It’s growing in popularity, and you don’t want to become the only one in your friend group who doesn’t know how to play.

Jason Lafferty mugshot
Lakeland Police Department
Jason Lafferty mugshot (via Lakeland Police Department)

There is no word on whether this was his intention the whole time to play and have fun with the victim before robbing him blind or if it was a crime of opportunity. Wonder if he was just a sore loser or something? I feel like there’s more to the story than meets the eye, and I would love to find answers to all of these questions.

Cort Freeman was born and raised in Metro Detroit. He was named Clarkston High School 2009 Class Clown 13 years after graduating. Totally normal thing to happen. That’s thanks to his time spent as an Intern at Comedy Central and Social Media Correspondent for The Colbert Report. Cort has done comedy across the country, both standing up and sitting down. When he’s not trying to make you laugh on-air and online, he’s probably at home enjoying his favorite shows like Seinfeld, South Park, and The Office. He’s also totally uncomfortable writing about himself in the third person. Cort enjoys writing about comedy, food, sports, and entertainment. So, basically anything and everything.

Are These The 5 Best TV Shows Set In Florida?

What are the best TV shows set in Florida? There are more than you think and they aren’t all popular hits!

Over the years, there have been many TV shows that chose to set their show in the state of Florida. In fact, some of the biggest shows ever took place in Florida. However, some weren’t massive hits but are worthy of making the list. Some take place in Miami, some in Southwest Florida, and some shows have used the Tampa area as their setting.

What Are The Best TV Shows Set In Florida?

I recently made a similar list of the best TV shows set in Las Vegas, and it was much easier than Florida! There are so many shows set in the state of Florida, I had no idea there were so many! Most of them (a significant amount) take place in Miami, but there are shows set all over the Sunshine State. Do you have a favorite show set in Florida? Let us know what yours is! Only picking five shows was tough because there are so many to choose from, so the one you’re thinking of might have slipped our minds and didn’t make the list! Many fantastic shows that I would highly recommend ended up being left on the cutting room floor.

Since so many good shows had to be left behind, we need to take a minute to shout out some Honorable Mentions. Burn Notice, starring Jeffrey Donovan, was a successful show that ran for several seasons. Some of my friends even called it their favorite show at one point. However, it didn’t end up making the list but it needed some love and deserves a spotlight. Vince Vaughn’s new show Bad Monkey takes place in Florida but I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet (even though I really want to) so it’s not going to be found on the list. Seriously, the trailers made it look exciting and funny! Plus, you can’t go wrong with Vince Vaughn. Finally, Jane The Virgin was a show that was set in Miami, and a lot of people enjoyed it. I never got into it, so it also won’t make the list.

What shows ended up making the final 5? Check out our list below! Then, make sure to tell us if we forgot your favorite show and maybe it can be added as an Honorable Mention!

  • Dexter

    https://youtu.be/YQeUmSD1c3g?si=jhOZ_MgTO1siMRTO In my opinion, Dexter is the best show of all-time set in Florida. For a while, I might have even called it the best show ever. Then that finale happened and I haven’t gone back since. Seriously, might be the worst finale ever. However, the show was fantastic especially the early seasons. It couldn’t be matched! I like how it integrated the mood and music of Miami into the show.

  • Miami Vice

    https://youtu.be/-aMCzRj3Syg?si=EaFCx6FyxOPJHV4C A blast from the past! Yes, it was before my time. However, I still can recognize that it’s one of the best shows set in Florida and definitely one of the most iconic. It was decades ago but its impact is still felt not only in Miami but outside as well. It remains an aesthetic today! Not many shows can pull that off. Miami Vice definitely deserves to be on the list and if you haven’t watched it you are missing out!

  • CSI: Miami

    https://youtu.be/mznsEcZlM2I?si=1NCBW-BopvkDYCcP CSI: Miami isn’t the best in the CSI series, that honor goes to Las Vegas. However, it is still one of the best shows set in Florida. You just have to see it as a comedy. You can’t take Horatio seriously and he’s so cheesy but that’s what makes the show! He delivers the cheesy pun and then puts on his sunglasses and it never gets old. It’s a great show if you approach it the right way.

  • Tiger King

    Tiger King was set in Florida! You can’t forget that! The hit that helped get many of us through the COVID-19 pandemic was set in Tampa, Florida. That’s where Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue is. There were so many iconic “Florida Man” type people shown in that show. It was a hit and it’s pure Florida.

  • Nip/Tuck

    The first few seasons of Nip/Tuck took place in Miami before the show later was set in Los Angeles. However, the best seasons were the early ones and those were all in Miami. The show was a massive hit in the early 2000s. Many people still watch and stream it today. It definitely has to be named as one of the best shows set in Florida.

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