A 31-year-old Ocala man was arrested after he was accused of stealing a vehicle after taking it on a test drive.
On Friday, August 12, at approximately 9:40 a.m., two Ocala Police Department officers responded to Kaser Cars & In-House Credit, LLC located at 56 S Pine Avenue in reference to a stolen vehicle.
Upon arrival, the officers made contact with the male owner of the business who stated that Stephen Dennaro Johnson had requested to test drive a 2013 Hyundai Sonata on Thursday, August 11. The owner stated that Johnson left the parking lot at around 12:30 p.m. with the vehicle, and he failed to return it.
The owner advised that he canvased the area in an attempt to locate the vehicle, but he was unable find it. He notified OPD of the incident, but he initially held off on reporting the vehicle as stolen since he wanted to see if Johnson would return it.
After waiting a day for the vehicle to be returned, Johnson contacted OPD to report it as stolen. He also provided OPD with a copy of Johnson’s driver’s license, a loan application with Johnson’s information, and a pending sale agreement for the vehicle in the amount of $15,242.29.
An OPD officer attempted to contact Johnson on his phone number without success. Johnson was located the following day, and he was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $1,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for grand theft of a motor vehicle.
A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, September 13 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.