A homeless man’s wild ride in a stolen Community Watch vehicle took him across a golf course where he nearly hit a snowbird preparing to putt.
The Community Watch SUV was snatched at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday near the Boone Gate on the Historic Side of The Villages. A gate attendant had grown concerned when a suspicious man approached him and claimed someone was “eating his brains.” A Community Watch supervisor arrived on the scene and while he was out of his vehicle, the man stole it and drove away.
Lady Lake police caught up with the stolen vehicle in the 1800 block of West Schwartz Boulevard. The Community Watch vehicle sped away at an unsafe speed in an area where there is a great deal of pedestrian traffic, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
The vehicle then drove onto a golf course, where a 58-year-old woman from Canandaigua, N.Y. was preparing to putt at Hole #16. She told police the vehicle had been coming “right at her.” The driver came within two feet of hitting her and left her fearing for her life. The vehicle ran over her golf towel.
The driver left the course, drove to U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and headed to Freedom Pointe on El Camino Real, causing three automobile crashes along the way. He crashed the SUV, causing the airbag to deploy. The driver fled on foot but was captured by police officers.
The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Jessie Charles Webb, who was determined to be wanted on two Georgia warrants. Webb initially complained of calf pain and was taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center, where he was medically cleared.
As he was being escorted from the hospital, he tried to pull away from an officer. Webb also tried to grab the officer’s taser.
Webb is facing numerous charges and has been booked on $34,000 bond at the Lake County Jail.
