WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — The Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) recently arrested multiple individuals on grand theft charges over two days after discovering three alleged stolen vehicles.
The arrests were aided by FLOCK safety alerts and traffic stops across the county, according to the WCSO.
On September 16, at approximately 10 a.m., the WCSO said it received a FLOCK alert regarding a stolen dark blue Jeep Cherokee traveling on Highway 90 near Mossy Head. The vehicle reported stolen in Indiana, was stopped near Oakridge Way.
The driver, Caden Elias Layne, 20, of Anderson, Indiana, reportedly told deputies he had purchased the Jeep from someone at a casino and claimed there was a two-week hold on the title. Mr Layne also stated he did not know the vehicle’s owner.
Deputies said they contacted the reporting jurisdiction, which confirmed the vehicle was stolen.
The WCSO said the passenger in the vehicle, Jordan Lee Vega, 16, was reported as a runaway from Noblesville, Indiana. Both Layne and Vega were arrested on multiple charges, including grand theft.
Later that morning at 11:54 a.m., WCSO deputies conducted a second traffic stop in Freeport on a vehicle without a license plate. During the stop, deputies reportedly discovered the driver, Jody Leigh Tullis, 28, of Ponce de Leon, was not the registered owner. The WCSO said contact was made with the vehicle’s owner, who confirmed the vehicle had been stolen.
Mr Tullis informed deputies that he had traded vehicles with Dustin Kenneth Wooten, 26, of DeFuniak Springs. Deputies later located Wooten, who reportedly admitted Tullis had driven him to the victim’s residence to take the vehicle. Afterward, the two men are said to have traded vehicles.
Both Mr Tullis and Mr Wooten were arrested and charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property.
The next day, September 17, around 11 a.m., WCSO deputies received another FLOCK alert, this time for a gray GMC Sierra reported stolen in Okaloosa County. The vehicle was located at Love’s Travel Stop in Mossy Head, and deputies conducted a traffic stop.
The driver, Herbert Eugene Rogers, 36, of Pensacola, reportedly claimed the vehicle had been loaned to him. However, deputies said they confirmed with the victim and the reporting jurisdiction that the vehicle was stolen.
Mr Rogers was arrested and booked into the Walton County Jail on charges of grand theft and obstruction without violence.
