A Homestead, Florida man was arrested on Monday after deputies spotted him driving a vehicle stolen out of Miami-Dade County.
Carlos Manuel DeLeon, 29, was charged with grand theft auto and dealing in stolen property.
Around 11:45 p.m., Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies received an alert that a license plate reader received a hit on a Honda Civic that had been reported stolen. According to the report, the reader spotted the vehicle traveling southbound on U.S. 1 near Mile Marker 48.
Deputies began looking for the vehicle, and they ultimately found it parked at a rest stop near the Spanish Harbor Boat Ramp at Mile Marker 33. After removing the two occupants of the vehicle, deputies began questioning the suspects.
DeLeon, who was in the driver’s seat, initially stated he didn’t know the vehicle was stolen. He claimed he borrowed the car from his neighbor on Sunday. However, he later changed his story to say he purchased the vehicle from a friend several weeks ago. After being confronted with the inconsistencies in his story, DeLeon admitted he knew the vehicle was stolen. He stated he acquired it from a friend despite knowing this.
Deputies noted that the car had been clearly tampered with in order to be stolen. The VIN numbers were either completely removed or tampered with, and the ignition was dangling out of the steering column. Furthermore, the door handles were damaged and the registration on the vehicle had clearly been tampered with, according to reports.
The other passenger was determined not to have any criminal involvement in the incident.
DeLeon was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, where he was being held on a $10,000 bond.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.