An 18-year-old Belleview man was arrested after allegedly stealing a gun from a southeast Ocala residence.
On Thursday, December 9, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office corporal arrived at the Ocala residence in reference to a stolen firearm.
The male victim stated that his nephew had called and requested a ride to work. His nephew also asked if the victim could give his friend, Logan Tyler Bolinger, a ride.
The victim agreed and picked both men up. He dropped his nephew off at work at around 7 a.m. and headed back to his house with Bolinger.
According to the victim, it was too early to take Bolinger to his intended destination, so the victim decided to bring him to the house until they could later leave at 9:30 a.m.
While at the house, the victim noticed that Bolinger had a gun, and they talked about firearms. Bolinger offered to clean one of the victim’s guns.
The victim handed his gun to Bolinger and multiple requests were made to purchase the gun. With no intention on selling the gun, the victim declined the repeated offers.
Bolinger told the victim that he had just gotten out of jail and was on probation. He also mentioned that he was married with two children.
While the victim was watching television, Bolinger asked if he could smoke, and he was told he would need to step outside to do that.
After around 15 minutes, the victim looked outside and noticed that Bolinger was gone, and his gun was also missing.
The corporal located Bolinger and he was identified by the victim in a photo lineup.
Bolinger told the corporal that he recalled getting a ride from the victim. According to Bolinger, the victim was “doing a lot of hard drugs” and he finally left the residence in the morning.
He claimed that a friend picked him up after he stood outside for a few minutes. He also recalled seeing cleaning supplies inside the residence, but he denied cleaning the gun.
Bolinger was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $2,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for grand theft of a firearm.
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on January 18, 2022, according to jail records.