A GPS tracker, K-9 units and a helicopter helped law enforcement track a stolen Villages Public Safety Department vehicle to the Properties of The Villages Sales Center at Lake Sumter Landing.
The release of an arrest report is shedding more light on a wild ride taken Wednesday afternoon in the public safety department’s Ford F-550 basic life support vehicle after it was snatched from the Santa Fe Surgery Center on County Road 466.
Jessie Charles Webb, 32, drove the emergency vehicle, valued at $100,000 and containing $10,000 worth of sensitive medical equipment, over the bridge at Lake Sumter and ditched it in the sales center parking lot. A helicopter from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office had joined in the chase which began earlier in the afternoon when Webb stole a bucket truck and then a golf cart in Lady Lake before happening upon The Villages Public Safety Department emergency response vehicle. When Webb jumped into the emergency vehicle, its lights were activated as it was on an emergency call.
After fleeing on foot from the sales center, Webb, wearing a gray shirt and cargo pants, was spotted by a deputy near Sonny’s BBQ on Canal Street. The deputy quickly took Webb, who was arrested in 2019 after stealing a Community Watch vehicle, into custody. Webb attempted to give the deputy a false name.
Webb has a long criminal history and was most recently arrested after holding a woman at knifepoint for several hours on New Year’s Day on the Historic Side of The Villages. She eventually broke free and ran to a gas station pleading for help. Officers found Webb in the carport of the St. Andrews Boulevard home where he was living. He had the bloody knife attached to his belt. He is scheduled to be back in Lake County Court on March 14. He had been released from jail on his own recognizance.
