A Summerfield woman with an extensive criminal background found herself behind bars again recently after she was stopped by a Marion County sheriff’s deputy for driving a vehicle with no license tag.
The deputy stopped a red 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup in the 14700 block of S.E. 100th Avenue in Summerfield and made contact with the driver, 29-year-old Megan Lynne Bateman, who said she was driving home. The deputy asked Bateman for her driver’s license and she told she didn’t have it and knew it wasn’t valid, a sheriff’s office report states.
A records check revealed that Bateman’s license had been suspended since Sept. 5, 2018. She also had the following sanctions on her license:
- Feb. 17: Suspension for failure to pay a traffic fine;
- Aug. 1, 2019 – License revoked for a violation related to controlled substances (three revocations);
- Jan. 11, 2019 – Driver’s license canceled;
- Dec. 6, 2018 – Suspended for failure to pay a traffic fine; and
- Sept. 5, 2018 – Suspended for failure to pay a court obligation (two suspensions).
The records check also showed that Bateman has three convictions for driving while license suspended, revoked or canceled from July 18, 2017 (two convictions) and Aug. 9, 2016 (one conviction).
Bateman, who lives at 5899 S.E. 140th Pl. in Summerfield, was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with driving with license suspended or revoked (subsequent offense). She was released the following day on $1,000 bond and her next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
Bateman is no stranger to the Marion County legal system, having been arrested five times since September 2017. Those include:
- In April 2019 she was jailed on $113,000 bond after she was found to be in possession of a firearm and a large amount of drugs after a truck broke down at the exit ramp at Interstate 75 in Wildwood.
- In August 2018 she was arrested after a theft at the Summerfield Wal-Mart when an employee identified her through Facebook.
- In September 2017 she was held without bond at the Lake County Jail for violating her probation on a charge of grand retail theft.
- In May 2017 she was taken into custody after allegedly attempting to steal more than $300 in merchandise from Belk at La Plaza Grande in The Villages.