MAN AT 'DRUG HOUSE' KILLED WHEN POLK TASK FORCE CONFRONTED

LAKELAND - Neighbors had their suspicions about what was going on at 4448
Viola Road.

Cars came and went at all hours. They didn't realize authorities had their
own suspicions and had purchased methamphetamine to build a case.

When Polk County sheriff's deputies and a drug task force arrived Friday
morning to serve a search warrant, Jason Britt came out with a baseball
bat, sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers said. Deputies backed off, but
one officer was forced to open fire when Britt continued to brandish the
bat, she said.

Britt, 22, who lived in a converted shed adjacent to his mother's rural
mobile home, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies and drug task force officers arrived at 6:50 a.m., surrounded the
home and announced the search warrant, sheriff's Col. Grady Judd said.

That's when Britt came out of the shed holding the bat over his head,
authorities said.

"The deputies retreated, and he continued to aggressively advance toward
them," Judd said.

"There is one way to shoot, and that is for maximum effect. We shoot to
neutralize the threat," he said.

Neighbors in the rural, oak tree-lined community called the house in north
Lakeland a "drug house."

Joyce Saxton said she reported suspicious activity to authorities.

"People would drive up and meet him at the window or beep the horn. They
would get their stuff and leave," she said.

Authorities said they seized about a half-pound of methamphetamine, 6
ounces of cocaine, two marijuana plants and $900 cash from the house.

Nicolas Rivera, 41, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, was
charged with trafficking in more than 200 grams of methamphetamine,
possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and misdemeanor possession of
marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was being held Friday at Polk County
Jail with bail set at $21,000.

Britt's mother was at home, but she was not charged.

The officer who shot the suspect will be placed on routine administrative
leave pending an investigation. Authorities said he has been on the force
for two years but cannot be identified because he works undercover.

Britt was a busboy at Red Barn Steak House, a popular eatery on New Tampa
Highway west of Lakeland, from March 28 to April 14, restaurant owner David
Jones said. Britt's cousin, who is a busboy at the restaurant, brought him
to work there, Jones said.

"He worked for two weeks, got his check, and we never saw him again," Jones
said. "I don't know a thing about him."

Jones said Britt was a small man. Court records describe him as 5 foot 6
and 150 pounds.

Britt was arrested April 26 on misdemeanor charges of possession of
marijuana and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He pleaded no contest and was placed on 12 months' probation.

He had previous misdemeanor convictions for domestic battery, resisting an
officer without force, petty larceny and numerous traffic violations,
including driving with a suspended license.