A Dunnellon man was arrested after being caught driving a truck with an altered identification number in Ocklawaha.
Brandon Edward Richardson, 25, of 5591 SW 181st Court, was charged with possession of a vehicle with altered numbers, driving with a license expired for more than six months, and attaching an unassigned license plate to a vehicle. Richardson was already out on bond for a hit-and-run incident on April 11.
On Tuesday, a Marion County sheriff’s deputy observed a black Dodge truck parked at a gas station on SE 95th Street Road. The deputy observed the license tag had an expired decal and conducted a records check on the tag, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The tag wasn’t currently assigned to a vehicle and had been replaced by another tag that was currently registered to a trailer. The deputy followed the truck out of the parking lot and conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of SE 95th Street and 183rd Avenue Road, the report said.
Richardson told the deputy he had recently purchased the vehicle from a friend and didn’t know anything about the tag. He said he didn’t have his license on him. Asked if his license was valid, Richardson said it was. He was unable to provide the registration paperwork or the vehicle’s title. A records search showed Richardson’s license had expired in November 2018, according to the report.
The deputy tried to find the vehicle’s identification number (VIN) and saw the door frame was painted with black paint, covering the VIN placard. The vehicle’s dash was also damaged and the VIN placard had been removed and the area covered with black paint. The VIN placard was also not legible on the inside of the hood, the report said.
Richardson was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was being held Friday on $1,500 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on May 12.