A theft suspect from North Carolina who was injured while trying to elude law enforcement is accused of providing a phony name to law enforcement.
Jesse Wayne Richards, 32, of Lexington, NC, was charged recently with aggravated fleeing with injury or damage, petit theft items valued between $100 and $300, giving a false ID to law enforcement, and driving with a suspended license.
Richards was taken to the Marion County Jail from Ocala Regional Hospital as a John Doe on the eluding and theft charges. While at the hospital, he provided the name “Joshua Hayes” to a Marion County sheriff’s deputy multiple times. A fingerprint scan at the jail revealed his real name, according to the sheriff’s office report.
A computer check revealed multiple active suspensions of Richards’ driver’s license but no convictions of driving with a suspended license. He’s being held in the Marion County Jail on $31,500 bond and will appear in Marion County Court on Feb. 18.