A 35-year-old man was arrested after a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted him approaching the driver’s door of a pickup truck that was reported stolen out of Lake County.
On Thursday, July 14, the MCSO deputy was at the Wawa gas station located at 5726 SE Abshier Boulevard in Belleview when an unoccupied GMC Sierra pickup truck was observed at one of the gas pumps.
A computer search of the vehicle’s license plate revealed that it was reported stolen out of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. According to the alert that was issued on the vehicle, the suspect was identified as Jeremy Lee Gordon.
The deputy and several additional MCSO units surveyed the area for a suspect. While conducting surveillance of the gas station, the deputy observed a man who was wearing a camouflage long sleeve shirt and tan pants, and this man approached the driver’s door of the stolen pickup truck.
The deputy, along with two additional MCSO units, conducted a felony traffic stop of the pickup truck. The man was detained in handcuffs, and he was eventually identified as Gordon.
According to the MCSO report, Gordon did not have an identification card, and the deputy asked for his name. Gordon told the deputy that his name was “Jeremy Gordan,” and he provided a date of birth that was in October 1985.
A computer check of the name and date of birth was conducted, and there were no matching records in the system. The deputy then ran a search for “Jeremy Gordon,” and a result was located which listed a date of birth that was in October 1986.
During an interview with Gordon, the deputy advised in the report that multiple opportunities were given for Gordon to provide the correct spelling of his name and date of birth. He continued to tell the deputy that he was “Jeremy Gordan” and that he was born in 1985.
When asked about the stolen vehicle, Gordon stated that he last spoke with the victim/owner of the vehicle approximately two days earlier. He admitted that the victim requested for the vehicle to be returned, and the victim had threatened to contact law enforcement.
Gordon claimed that he was initially going to return the vehicle to the victim on the same day that they spoke, but he ended up falling asleep instead. He further claimed that the victim “frequently allowed him to drive the truck,” and he assumed that it would not be reported as stolen since he allegedly drove it on a regular basis.
Gordon admitted that the vehicle was not registered or titled to him, and he was aware that he was depriving the victim of the vehicle by not returning it to the victim.
The deputy contacted the victim who confirmed a desire to pursue criminal charges against Gordon.
Gordon was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $3,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for grand theft of a motor vehicle and a misdemeanor charge for fraud.
A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, August 16 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.