A Citra man was arrested after allegedly taking a woman’s vehicle without her permission and driving it with a suspended license.
Clifford Gary Sanford, 38, of 1653 NE 162nd St., was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, and for violating his probation on a domestic battery conviction. Sanford has a dozen previous arrests, according to Marion County Jail records, including two in 2018 for domestic battery.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that she has sometimes allowed Sanford to drive her red 1991 Ford Explorer, but she specifically told him this time he couldn’t use it. The vehicle is registered in her name only, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said she was at her father’s house last Thursday morning when her daughter called her and told her that Sanford and another man had taken the truck. The vehicle was reported as stolen and a sheriff’s office detective in an unmarked car observed it at the intersection of NE Jacksonville Road and East Highway 326, the report said.
The detective followed the vehicle until it turned into the Ocala Springs strip mall at the corner of West Highway 326 and North Highway 441. The detective conducted a traffic stop and placed Sanford, who was in the driver’s seat, in handcuffs. Sanford’s passenger said the victim told Sanford not to take the vehicle that morning, according to the report.
Sanford said the victim had given him permission to use the vehicle and that she is not mentally stable and is a liar. He also said his passenger was a liar. While being taken to the Marion County Jail, he continued to say he wasn’t guilty of stealing the vehicle but was guilty of driving without a license. A records search showed Sanford’s license has numerous suspensions, the report said.
Sanford was taken to jail without incident. He was released Saturday on $4,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Dec. 17.