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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ocala man jailed after allegedly stealing several unlocked vehicles, fleeing MCSO deputies

A 30-year-old Ocala man was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after he was accused of stealing several unlocked vehicles and fleeing from deputies.

On Saturday, September 10, an MCSO deputy responded to the 6400 block of NW 65th Court in Marion County in reference to a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the female victim who stated that her Ford Fusion had been stolen from outside her residence.

According to the victim, she had left her vehicle unlocked with the keys inside for approximately 30 minutes while she was in her home. When she stepped outside, her vehicle was gone.

The victim advised that her other vehicle appeared to have been rummaged through since she found several items, including a pair of sunglasses belonging to her spouse, on the opposite side of the street.

A relative of the victim’s spouse told the deputy that the light inside the victim’s vehicle came on approximately 20 minutes before the victim walked back outside.

Another MCSO deputy was on routine patrol and located the stolen vehicle near the intersection of NW Highway 225A and W Highway 329. After a failed attempt to conduct a traffic stop, a pursuit was initiated that lasted approximately five minutes.

According to the MCSO report, the pursuit ended when the stolen vehicle went off the roadway, crashed through a fence, and struck a tree. The driver, later identified as Michael Thomas Newvine, Jr., fled on foot through a wooded area, and MCSO established a perimeter to locate him.

Michael Thomas Newvine, Jr.
Michael Thomas Newvine, Jr.

Within a few minutes, MCSO received several calls advising that a suspicious person was in close proximity of the traffic accident. One reportee stated that a suspicious male matching Newvine’s description was knocking on the front door of the reportee’s residence.

At the time of the reportee’s call, the MCSO Air1 unit observed a Chevrolet pickup truck leaving the area of the reportee’s residence on NW 79th Court. An MCSO deputy unsuccessfully attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the pickup truck and a second pursuit was initiated.

The MCSO report states that the pursuit came to an end in the 6300 block of W Highway 329 after MCSO deployed stop sticks and successfully conducted a Precision Immobilization Technique (P.I.T.) maneuver on the pickup truck.

The driver and sole occupant of the pickup truck, Newvine, was detained in handcuffs. The pickup truck was confirmed to belong to the reportee, and a pistol belonging to the reportee was also located inside the vehicle.

Newvine was arrested and transported to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital for a medical evaluation. Once he was medically cleared, he was transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $49,000 bond.

According to the MCSO report, another vehicle had been stolen earlier in the week. The report indicates that on Tuesday, September 6, a Nissan Maxima had been left running and unlocked in the parking lot outside Martins Qwik King (9800 NW Gainesville Road) while the vehicle’s owner went inside the store.

When the vehicle’s owner returned to the parking lot, the vehicle was gone. An MCSO detective reviewed security camera footage of the incident which showed a male suspect entering the victim’s vehicle and driving it southbound on NW Gainesville Road. The MCSO report states that the suspect was later identified as Newvine through a comparison of tattoos on the video to recent jail booking photos.

Newvine is facing felony charges for grand theft of a motor vehicle (three counts), unarmed burglary of an unoccupied conveyance (two counts), armed burglary of a dwelling structure or conveyance, resisting a law enforcement officer with lights and siren active (two counts), and driving with a suspended license (two counts).

A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.