A boyfriend was arrested after a stolen vehicle was found at an apartment complex in Lady Lake.
A Lake County sheriff’s deputy at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday received a report of a stolen vehicle in the area of Eagles Nest Road and U.S. Hwy. 27/441. The Lady Lake Police Department joined in the search and discovered the black 2021 Honda Civic near Building 12 at The Quarters Apartments on Teague Trail. As an officer was inspecting the vehicle, which had been reported stolen in Mount Dora, someone used the key fob to lock the vehicle’s door, indicating someone with the key fob was nearby. Witnesses said they had previously seen the vehicle in the parking lot of the apartment complex and described a man they’d seen with the car.
Law enforcement found a woman living in the apartment complex who said she was dating 27-year-old Markese Adam Sears of Mount Dora, who was considered a suspect in the theft of the vehicle. The woman allowed police and deputies to examine a pair of pants Sears left behind and they found two driver’s licenses which belonged to residents of Mount Dora. The key to the vehicle was found in a toilet paper roll near where the pants were found in the woman’s apartment.
A search of the Honda turned up a loaded .45-caliber firearm.
Sears, who is a convicted felon, was arrested on a charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle as well as other charges. He was booked at the Lake County Jail on $14,000 bond
