A 41-year-old homeless man is being held without bond after he allegedly stole a golf cart from a church in Summerfield.
Eric Linville Manning was booked into the Marion County Jail on a felony charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded July 14 to Village View Church on Southeast 147th Place regarding a reported theft. A church representative told law enforcement that a gas-powered, gray Yamaha golf cart was taken from the property earlier that morning.
A church employee told deputies he was driving on the property when he observed a man he recognized from the area as “Eric” allegedly driving the church’s golf cart. Security footage provided to law enforcement reportedly showed a man walking onto the property, climbing into the cart, and driving away at a high rate of speed south across Southeast 147th Place onto Southeast 84th Terrace.
The suspect in the video was wearing jeans, gray shoes, and a black hoodie. Deputies recognized the man’s clothing and physical description from an interaction they had with Manning the previous day at a gas station less than a mile down the road. Body camera footage from that prior interaction confirmed Manning was wearing the same clothing as the suspect in the church’s security video, the report indicated.
The church employee later positively identified Manning in a photo lineup.
Manning is known to local law enforcement as a persistent panhandler. He was arrested last year following an incident at a local Circle K where he allegedly pressured customers for money.
Although deputies initially had to seek a warrant for his arrest, Manning was subsequently captured and taken into custody. He is currently being held at the Marion County Jail without bond.