Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrested an Ocala man Wednesday afternoon after a sheriff’s lieutenant discovered his vehicle had the wrong license tag on it.
Bradley L. Easter, 20, was taken into custody after the sheriff’s lieutenant watched his Easter’s Ford truck travel on SW 63rd Street and then abruptly turn into a driveway. The lieutenant said he was aware that Easter didn’t have a valid driver’s license when he stopped him, a sheriff’s office report states.
A computer check showed that Easter has never had a driver’s license. A check of the truck’s identification number provided the previous owner’s information and showed that no license tag was assigned to it, the report says.
Deputies also spoke with a woman who said she asked Easter to drive the truck to the Department of Motor Vehicles so she could have it registered. Easter, who lives at 6623 SW 84th St., said he drove to a friend’s house “so he could use morphine” and then planned to drive to the DMV before seeing the sheriff’s lieutenant, the report says.
Easter was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license and failing to register a vehicle. He was released Thursday night just after 8 p.m. and is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Oct. 2 at 3 p.m.