A 33-year-old Ocala man was arrested after he admitted to stealing a dirt bike during an event at the World Equestrian Center.
On Monday, April 18, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the World Equestrian Center in reference to the theft incident which had occurred on or around Saturday, March 26. Upon arrival, the deputy met with a security staff member who had viewed surveillance footage from the day of the theft.
The deputy was informed that on the day of the theft, a female victim was at the World Equestrian Center for a horse competition. She had parked her 2019 Honda CRF50 dirt bike outside of a barn while she went inside.
According to the security staff, the surveillance footage showed a juvenile who had jumped onto the victim’s dirt bike and drove away. After riding around, the juvenile parked the dirt bike next to a large Ford pickup truck that was in the parking lot.
A man, later identified as Jose Lopez, picked up the dirt bike and placed it in the bed of the pickup truck. He then entered the pickup truck and drove away.
On Wednesday, April 20, the deputy reviewed the surveillance footage which showed the juvenile riding the dirt bike. The deputy also observed Lopez on the footage, and he was seen walking around the event and interacting with several event attendees prior to leaving in the pickup truck.
The deputy was able to locate one of those attendees that Lopez had interacted with during the event. When shown a photo of Lopez which was taken from the surveillance footage, the attendee was able to identify him.
The attendee called Lopez and put the cellphone on speaker mode so the deputy could speak with him. When Lopez answered the call, the deputy advised that the sheriff’s office was looking for the people who had stolen the dirt bike.
Lopez told the deputy that his son had brought the dirt bike to him. According to Lopez, his son had mentioned that the dirt bike was found near a pond.
According to the MCSO report, Lopez admitted that he should have known better, and he took full responsibility for taking the dirt bike. He told the deputy that he had loaded it onto his pickup truck, and he had taken it home.
The deputy responded to Lopez’s residence and retrieved the dirt bike. A check of the vehicle identification number confirmed that it belonged to the victim.
Lopez was arrested, transported to Marion County Jail, and he was later released on $2,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for grand theft of a motor vehicle.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.