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The Villages
Monday, March 18, 2024

Community service aide helps capture suspect in theft of E-bike at Target

Michele Sloane

A community service aide played a key role in the capture of a suspect in the theft of an electric bicycle from Target at Rolling Acres Plaza in The Villages.

The E-bike was stolen last month after a woman rode it to Target and parked it in a bicycle rack at the store. Police distributed images of the suspect and a truck also believed to have been used in the theft of the E-bike.

The suspect obtained bolt cutters from this truck to aid in the theft of the electric bicycle.
This truck was captured on surveillance at Target at Rolling Acres Plaza at the time of the theft of the E-bike.
Kristen Nicole Wireman
Kristen Nicole Wireman
Martin David Falls
Martin David Falls

Lady Lake Police Department Community Service Aide Michele Sloane at 11:10 a.m. Thursday spotted a teal GMC truck that resembled the vehicle connected to the E-bike theft at Target. Sloane, beloved for her many years of service working traffic at Villages Elementary of Lady Lake, continued to follow the truck and provided details of its movements before detectives caught up with it on Griffin Avenue. The driver of the truck was identified as 46-year-old Martin David Falls of Leesburg. He was positively identified as the subject captured in surveillance images at Target. He was arrested on a charge of felony grand theft.

A woman riding as a passenger in the truck initially provided a false name to police. Rapid ID was used to determine that she was 41-year-old Kristen Nicole Wireman of Leesburg and that she was wanted on two warrants.

Both were taken into custody and booked at the Lake County Jail.

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