Gainesville man arrested for stealing car and crashing it into pond

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jonathan Alexander Quino, 23, was arrested yesterday for allegedly stealing a car from a friend, crashing it into a pond near Celebration Pointe, and stealing the tag.

On September 1, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a hit-and-run crash and found a Toyota abandoned in a pond near Celebration Pointe. Witnesses said the driver had run northbound through the parking lot, carrying the tag, and the deputy saw a tall, slim Hispanic male running from the scene of the crash. The deputy gave commands for the man to stop, but he kept running; the deputy reported that the Toyota’s tag was later found in the woods near where the man had fled.

The next day, the owner of the Toyota reported that she and Quino had been hanging out at her apartment the previous night, and before she went to bed, Quino told her he was waiting for someone to pick him up and take him home. She said she went to sleep, and she woke up to multiple calls about her Toyota being found in a pond near Celebration Pointe.

The victim said Quino was the only person who had access to her keys, but she never gave him permission to drive her car. She described Quino as a tall Hispanic male with curly black hair, and she said he had written her an apology note, but she threw it away.

Quino was arrested on September 5 at his home in Hidden Oak Mobile Home Park, and post Miranda, he reportedly admitted to taking the victim’s vehicle from her apartment without permission, crashing the vehicle, removing the tag, and running from the scene. He said he ran from the deputy because he was scared.

Quino has been charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, petit theft of the tag, tampering with evidence for removing the tag, and resisting an officer without violence.

The report notes that Florida Highway Patrol worked the hit-and-run portion of the investigation, so additional charges may be pending.

Quino has no local criminal history, and Judge Sheree Lancaster ordered him released on his own recognizance.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.