A 36-year-old Ocala man was arrested after fleeing from a deputy in a stolen Toyota Camry.
On Tuesday, November 16, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy, along with additional MCSO units, responded to NW 68th Street in Ocala in reference to reports of a stolen vehicle.
The deputy observed a white Toyota Camry matching the stolen vehicle description heading eastbound on W Highway 326 near the intersection of NW Gainesville Road.
After activating the patrol car’s lights and siren, the deputy attempted a traffic stop at the 2500 block of W Highway 326. The driver of the stolen vehicle, later identified as Joshua Robert Carroll, refused to stop.
According to the MCSO report, Carroll continued east on W Highway 326, and the deputy saw him drive through a red light at the intersection of W Highway 326 and Highway 441.
The deputy managed to perform a P.I.T. maneuver at the 1500 block of E Highway 326 which caused Carroll’s vehicle to spin into a ditch on the north side of the road.
Carroll got out of the vehicle and was detained by an MCSO lieutenant.
Carroll agreed to speak with the deputy and admitted to taking the vehicle without the owner’s consent. He also admitted to stealing a spare set of keys from inside another vehicle that belonged to the same owner.
He told the deputy that he knows what he did was wrong but he “wanted to leave Ocala.”
Carroll was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held without bond. He faces felony charges for burglary, grand theft of a vehicle, and fleeing a law enforcement officer.
A court date has been scheduled on December 21 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.