OCALA, Fla. – A man arrested last week by Ocala police is accused of stealing a pickup truck from a dealership and attempting to drive off at high speed.
Ernest Van Damme, 34, faces charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing to elude with disregard of safety to persons or property, commercial burglary with over $1,000 in damage, possession of methamphetamine , possession of narcotic paraphernalia and unarmed burglary of a conveyance, booking records show.
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Van Damme was arrested early Friday after officers responding to a reported trespasser at the Gary Yeomans Ford dealership saw him driving away in a brand-new F-250 without a tag, the Ocala Police Department said on social media. Evidence at the dealership indicated Van Damme broke into the building and took the vehicle’s keys, the post states.
Officers tried to perform a traffic stop, yet Van Damme sped away, running at least one red light and reaching speeds between 90 and 100 mph before eventually pulling over along northbound Interstate 75, according to the post.
Van Damme surrendered and was taken to the Marion County Jail, the post states.
Among his belongings in the truck were a hammer, a machete, a hatchet, drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine, police said, adding investigators used security footage to link him to a vehicle burglary earlier the same night at a different location.