A man with a fully loaded assault rifle in his truck was arrested at Rolling Acres Plaza in The Villages.
The black 2016 GMC Sierra all-terrain truck was illegally parked on New Year’s Eve near Petco at the shopping plaza, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The truck’s driver’s side window was down and the door was unlocked. In plain view in the passenger seat, there was an AR-15 with a fully loaded magazine and a round in the chamber. There was no one with the vehicle, but its owner, 26-year-old Jonathon Morgan Mauldin of Summerfield, soon returned to the scene. He admitted he left the vehicle there and that he owns the weapon. He was found to be in possession of 7 grams of marijuana. He was handcuffed and put into the back of a patrol car.
As he was being transported to the Lake County Jail, he slipped the handcuffs to the front of his body. He announced that once at the jail, he would run. After arriving at the jail, Mauldin pulled away and tensed up. He pushed and grabbed at the officer in an attempt to get away.
Mauldin was arrested on charges of unsafe storage of a firearm, battery on a law enforcement officer and possession of marijuana. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $7,000 bond.