A Summerfield man found himself behind bars Monday morning after a Marion County sheriff’s K-9 deputy spotted him driving a rental vehicle that had been reported stolen in Orlando.
One of the passengers in the gray Kia SUV told deputies that 28-year-old Brandon James Michael Emmons had rented the vehicle in Orlando several months ago because their vehicle wasn’t operational and she’s pregnant and they needed a way to get to appointments. She said Emmons hadn’t been paying the rental fees but had contacted Dollar Rent A Car to pick up the SUV, a sheriff’s office report states.
A second passenger told deputies the same story. She added that they owe the rental company about $4,000, according to the report.
After being read his rights, Emmons said he rented the vehicle at Dollar Rent A Car about three months ago for a friend he only knows as “J.R.” He said his friend was supposed to be paying the car rental company while he was using the vehicle but hadn’t done so. He also claimed that his friend had returned the vehicle to him about two weeks ago and he had contacted the rental agency to pick up the SUV, which they said they would do but hadn’t as of Monday, the report says.
Emmons, who lives in the 6500 block of S.E. 173rd Lane in Summerfield, was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was released early Wednesday morning on $1,000 bond and is due in court June 8 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charge, jail records show.