Bad parking led to the arrest of a suspect with stolen vehicles at a hotel in The Villages.
Eric James Miller, 39, was arrested Dec. 7 on warrants charging him with grand theft auto and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was being held on those charges at the Lake County Jail.
He allegedly pointed a Glock 40 gun at Daniel Alexander Boone, 39, of Summerfield, on Nov. 29 and forced him to rent a room for him at the La Hacienda Hotel in Spanish Springs.
On Dec. 1, a Lady Lake police officer spotted a silver Ford F150 parked over several parking places at the hotel on Avenida Central. A Suzuki GSXR motorcycle was found in the back of the truck and its ignition had been removed, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The motorcycle had been reported as stolen to the Clearwater Police Department. The truck had been reported stolen in Lake County.
Police contacted hotel management who indicated the man with the truck had been staying in Room 14. When police went to the room, a man jumped out of the balcony and escaped on foot. Miller’s driver’s license was found in the room along with a small amount of methamphetamine.
The hotel housekeeping manager confirmed her son, Boone, had rented the room for Miller.
Police located Boone on a bench near El Ranchito restaurant on La Grande Boulevard on the Historic Side of The Villages. During a patdown, a small bag of marijuana was discovered in his pocket. He was issued a summons to appear in Lake County Court on Dec. 20. He provided police with information that helped lead to Miller’s arrest who was eventually taken into custody by Lake County sheriff’s deputies.