A 36-year-old Ocala man who stole a truck from a hotel parking lot was arrested after he attempted to hot-wire a second vehicle.
On Saturday, February 19, an Ocala Police Department officer responded to reports that a truck had been stolen from the parking lot of a southwest Ocala hotel.
The victim told the officer that the truck contained multiple valuables which included a handgun. The truck also had an out-of-state license plate.
An OPD detective was assigned to investigate the case.
On Monday, February 21, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant was conducting surveillance on a man named Dwayne Allen Joseph Rutherford regarding a separate case. The lieutenant observed that Rutherford was driving a truck that matched the description of the stolen vehicle. The out-of-state license plate appeared to have been swapped with a Florida license plate.
The next day, the lieutenant saw Rutherford driving the same truck.
On Wednesday, February 23, a call was received regarding a suspicious truck that was parked near a property. An OPD sergeant and detective responded to the scene and located the stolen truck which had been abandoned. None of the valuable items that belonged to the victim were inside the truck.
On Thursday, February 24, an OPD officer responded to a medical facility in southwest Ocala in reference to reports of an attempted vehicle theft. A male victim told the officer that when he came out of the business, a man, later identified as Rutherford, was inside his truck.
The victim stated that the wires were exposed, and Rutherford was attempting to hot-wire the vehicle. When the victim yelled at Rutherford, he stated that Rutherford ran towards SW 22nd Place.
Several additional OPD officers, an MCSO K-9 unit, and an MCSO aerial unit responded to the scene.
The aerial unit located Rutherford in the woods where he was hiding. Rutherford eventually surrendered, and the victim and a witness were both able to positively identify him as the suspect in the attempted vehicle theft.
During an interview with an OPD detective, Rutherford admitted to stealing the truck from the hotel parking lot.
Rutherford was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $37,000 bond. He is facing numerous felony charges that include grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft of a firearm, possession of burglary tools, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, fleeing a law enforcement officer, and attempted theft of a motor vehicle, among other charges.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.