A resident of The Villages has been charged with stealing a golf cart from a local senior living center.
Jerry Michael Lay Jr., 51, of the San Leandro Villas, was already in the Sumter County Detention Center for the theft of golf carts earlier this year from Barnes & Noble at Lake Sumter Landing, Enterprise Rental at Lake Sumter Landing and from the bowling alley at Spanish Springs. A detective from the Marion County Sheriff’s investigating the theft of a golf cart from High Point at Stonecrest Senior Living in Summerfied paid Lay a visit to ask him about that stolen golf cart.
The owner of that golf reported that on Oct. 2 he went out to the parking lot and found that his blue-and-gray Honda golf cart valued at $15,000 was missing. The detective obtained surveillance footage from the nearby Orthopedic Institute and found that a man had pulled up with a truck towing a utility trailer. The man is seen driving the golf cart onto the trailer and driving away. The detective tracked down the owner of the truck who said he had loaned it to Lay, who was out on bond at the time.
Lay was being held at the Marion County Jail where he was transported to face charges in Marion County Court.
In 2019, Lay was arrested in connection with another stolen golf cart.
