A Summerfield woman was arrested after allegedly stealing a motorcycle that she was meant to be test-driving.
Deputies responded to a residence in Weirsdale on Sunday regarding the theft of a motorcycle, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The owner advised that his 2009 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail motorcycle was stolen. His son told him that 35-year-old Megan Lynne Bateman and another man took the $6,000 vehicle from the covered carport.
The owner’s son advised that he knew Bateman through a mutual friend. He saw her and another man arrive at the residence on a white motorcycle, and he spoke with them. He was very vague about this interaction, the report said.
Another witness stated she saw Bateman drive from the son’s camper toward the carport, where the motorcycle was stored with the key in the saddlebag. Bateman then got on the motorcycle and drove away, the report said.
Law enforcement later spotted the stolen motorcycle pulling out of Opus Bar and Billiards, located at 6666 SE 110th St., Belleview. The rider, a woman with blonde hair and a dark covering tied around her face, traveled eastbound on Highway 25. He tried to catch up as she parked at a gas pump at Circle K, 7590 E Hwy. 25, but she fled when he turned on his emergency lights, the report said.
The deputy pursued the motorcycle before ending the traffic stop. Bateman was last seen heading south on U.S. Hwy. 441, but information later received indicated the motorcycle was at a residence on Southeast 23rd Avenue in Summerfield. With the property owner’s consent, the motorcycle parked at the rear of the property was determined to be the stolen vehicle, the report said.
Bateman was subsequently detained. She claimed that she took the motorcycle with permission from the owner’s son. She initially went to the camper to borrow the son’s truck to move her RV. She then saw the motorcycle, thought it looked nice and was told the owner was trying to sell it, the report said.
She asked to look at it, and the son allowed her to take it for a test drive, the report said. She rode it to the store and later received texts from him, asking her several times to return it. The last message read, “The love of god girl. This is really not gonna be good for you.”
Bateman further alleged that it started raining the night before, so she could not return the motorcycle and fell asleep. She did not wake up until Sunday afternoon and feared the son would be upset with her. So, she drove the motorcycle to someone else’s place in hopes that they would arrange to return it, the report said.
When asked why she did not just return the motorcycle when she woke up, she stated it was too big for her to drive. She did not answer the son due to her fear of his anger. She also claimed to have been asleep at the time of the pursuit at Circle K, the report said.
Bateman stated that the friend she lived with may have taken the motorcycle while she was sleeping. They had similar tattoos and hair, but a photo showed the friend was heavier set. She also did not have tattoos on her arms as seen in the dash cam footage from the chase, the report said.
The deputy later called this “friend” and learned she barely knew Bateman. They had not spoken in some time, and they did not live together. Additionally, her driver’s license photo did not match the picture that Bateman showed law enforcement, the report said.
The deputy also spoke with the person to whom Bateman left the motorcycle. Bateman had sent her a photo of the bike and asked for a $3,500 loan to buy it. She told Bateman that she did not have the money and to offer payments on it, the report said.
Bateman later showed up and asked to change clothes. Among them was a dark purple bandana, which matched the dark facial covering seen during the pursuit from Circle K, the report said.
Bateman was ultimately arrested on charge of grand theft auto. She was booked at Marion County Jail and released after posting $2,500 bond.
Her prior arrests include guns and drugs at an arcade in March 2024, driving without a license in Aug. 2020, a firearm and drugs on I-75 in April 2019, theft from Walmart in July 2018, probation violation in Sept. 2017, and theft from Belk in May 2017.