An Illinois man who said he was moving to Florida was nabbed with a stolen U-Haul.
Michael Brizendine, 39, of Evanston, Ill., was driving the U-Haul at about 6 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. Hwy. 441 when a Marion County sheriff’s deputy ran the vehicle’s Arizona license plate and discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen in North Carolina. A traffic stop was initiated in the parking lot of the Winn-Dixie grocery store on U.S. 301 in Belleview.
Brizendine said he had rented the U-Haul in North Carolina and was moving down to Florida, according to the arrest report. He said he had a rental contract for the vehicle and was unaware it had been reported as stolen.
He was arrested on a charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was booked at the Marion County Jail on $20,000 bond.
