A BrightView landscaping crew captured a man who attempted to steal one of their trucks in The Villages.
The crew had been working on an irrigation system at about 8:30 a.m. Friday near the Boone Gate on the Historic Side of The Villages when they saw a man get into one of their work trucks and begin looking for the keys, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. As he attempted to start the truck, the trio of BrightView employees pulled him from the vehicle and held him until police officers arrived on the scene.
The would-be truck thief was identified as 40-year-old Jason Wade Howard of Ocala. He has a long criminal history and spent a week behind bars last month after violating his probation on a shoplifting charge.
He was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was booked on $2,000 bond at the Lake County Jail.