Daytona Beach, FL – A Bunnell teenager currently on probation for selling drugs is arrested for stealing at least 2 vehicles from a Daytona Beach car rental company.
That 16-year-old boy was arrested by the Daytona Beach Police Department around 9:30 PM Thursday near the Jade Park Apartments at the corner of Jimmy Ann Drive and Dunn Avenue. WNDB News is not identifying him due to his age.
DBPD says detectives spotted the teen in an apartment parking lot behind the wheel of a tan 2016 Chrysler Town & Country that was reported stolen earlier in the day from a car rental location near Daytona Beach International Airport.
Marked patrol units got on scene as he parked the vehicle and walked out and it was at that point when officers approached the teenager and took him into custody, per the report.
Prior to giving himself up, the report notes that the suspect threw a black cell phone, a cell phone charger and 3 sets of car keys to the ground. One of the sets belonged to the tan Town & Country and the other 2 sets belonged to 2 other vehicles – a white Chrysler Town & Country and a Ford – also reported stolen recently, according to DBPD.
Officers say the white Chrysler – recovered by DBPD earlier that night – was stolen from the same car rental lot near DBIA. As for the Ford, it had been reported stolen 4 days earlier from an undisclosed location in Flagler County and was found in the same parking lot where the suspect was taken into custody.
According to an incident report on Wednesday, officials at the Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty car rental lot on Innovation Way reported 7 vehicles stolen from their lot around 3 AM that morning, 2 of which were the Town & Countrys whose keys the suspect had in his possession.
Officers think someone climbed over the car lot fence, got into a red Chrysler Town & Country and used it to ram through the locked exit gate, clearing a path for the other vehicles to leave the lot without damage. That Town & Country was found abandoned with the engine running just outside of the damaged gate.
Among the other vehicles stolen were a 2015 dark blue Jeep Compass, a 2015 white Ford Focus, a 2016 red Hyundai Santa Fe, a 2016 silver Hyundai Santa Fe and a 2016 white Jeep Patriot.
DBPD noted that the Patriot was recovered in an unrelated incident on Wednesday night at Halifax Medical Center after its driver fled from officers. The other vehicles haven’t been located at this time.
As of Noon Saturday, the suspect is held without bond at Volusia County Jail on 3 charges of felony grand theft auto, driving without a license and violating his probation.
The arrest report notes that the suspect has already been adjudicated as an adult by the Florida Department of Corrections. He was sentenced to 5 years probation last September for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of public housing in Flagler County.
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