A Williston man found himself behind bars Tuesday after initially being pulled over by a Marion County sheriff’s deputy in Summerfield for running a stop sign.
The deputy stopped a silver 2016 Honda Civic in the 14600 block of SE 92nd Court and the vehicle’s driver, 24-year-old Zachery Aaron Valentin, said he didn’t have his driver’s license with him and believed it was suspended. While speaking with Valentin, the deputy was alerted by dispatch that the Honda had been reported stolen by the Gainesville Police Department, a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy detained Valentin and put him in the back seat of his patrol vehicle. Once he confirmed the vehicle had been stolen, the deputy read Valentin his rights and he agreed to speak with him.
Valentin told the deputy that he had obtained the vehicle from a friend he knew by her first name earlier Tuesday afternoon. He said the two were staying at a Micanopy motel and the woman allowed him to use her vehicle to travel to the Fish Games internet cafes in Belleview and Summerfield. He denied knowing the vehicle was stolen but said he was aware it was a rental the woman had been driving for about a month, the report says.
Valentin admitted to knowing his license was suspended. He claimed he paid a fine he owed for an insurance suspension but said he didn’t follow through and pay to have his license reinstated, the report says.
Valentin was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and driving while license suspended (first offense). He is being held on no bond and is due in court July 14 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.
