A 33-year-old Ocklawaha man who has been in and out of the Marion County Jail multiple times over the last year was arrested Tuesday for allegedly failing to return his former employer’s truck, spray painting it a different color and removing a toolbox from the bed of the vehicle.
The victim first contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on July 1 after Daniel Mahan, of 13501 County Road 25, refused to return a blue Dodge Ram truck. The vehicle was listed as an unauthorized use and a be-on-the-lookout order (BOLO) was issued, according to the sheriff’s office report.
On Sunday, a deputy tried to stop the vehicle for a moving violation, but the driver failed to pull over. A chase ensued and the driver and vehicle got away. The victim reported that he received information on Facebook that the vehicle had been spray painted and the toolbox was missing from the bed of the truck, the report said.
He deputy did some investigating and found a recent photo of the truck (dated Monday) that showed it had been spray painted white and the toolbox was missing. The deputy informed the victim, who said the damage to the truck’s paint was worth approximately $1,200 and the value of the missing toolbox was about $400. The victim valued the truck at $19,000, according to the report.
Another photo of the truck was obtained on Tuesday and the color had been changed again to tan. Due to Mahan trying to conceal the identity of the truck by painting it and not returning it to its owner, the deputy changed its status from unauthorized use to stolen, the report said.
Later Tuesday, while traveling along the 10300 block of SE 132nd Road in Ocala, the deputy observed the vehicle traveling westbound approaching SE 115th Avenue. The deputy pulled over the vehicle and Mahan was identified as the driver. He refused to speak after being read his Miranda warning, according to the report.
Due to Mahan being the original suspect and the fact he was in possession of the vehicle when it was stopped, he was placed under arrest and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, first-degree petit theft of between $100 and $300, criminal mischief with property damage of $100 or more, fleeing police, battery on an officer, criminal mischief with property damage of between $200 and $1,000, hit and run, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession or use of drug equipment, and trying to smuggle contraband into a prison, the report said.
Mahan is no stranger to Marion County law enforcement. He has three prior arrests dating back to July 29, 2019, on charges including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, grand theft of a motor vehicle, criminal mischief, dealing in stolen property and numerous probation violations. Mahan has had jail stints of 4 ½ and 1 ½ months during that time, according to jail records.
Mahan is being held on $31,500 bond and will appear in Marion County Court on Aug. 11.