Levy County man arrested for stealing disabled car that had been left on the side of the road

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Marty Lee Tanner, 38, of Levy County, was arrested yesterday after allegedly stealing a vehicle that had been left on the side of the road after it broke down.

On November 22, the pickup truck’s owner let her son drive the truck, and when it broke down, he left it on the side of the road in Archer. Two days later, the owner’s son went back to get the truck, but it wasn’t there. The owner reported the stolen truck to law enforcement.

The owner’s son reportedly found the pickup truck at Wood Spring Suites in Gainesville and called his mother, who also went to the hotel. She called law enforcement and said that a man and a woman were in the truck.

The responding Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reported that he found Tanner in the driver’s seat of the truck, and he was ordered to the ground and detained. Tanner allegedly provided two different names but was eventually identified. The woman was later identified as Tanner’s wife.

Post Miranda, Tanner reportedly admitted that he had found the truck on the side of the road with a red windshield sticker, towed the truck to a relative’s home, and kept it there for several days. When the relative started asking where he got the truck, he left the home and went to the hotel.

Tanner has an active Lee County warrant for passing forged bills and grand theft of a motor vehicle, and he reportedly admitted that he had given a false name because he knew about the warrant.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a small baggie of a crystal-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. A search of the vehicle reportedly produced a glass pipe, three syringes, about a gram of marijuana, and a small “joint.”

Tanner has been charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His full criminal history is unavailable because the documents are not posted on weekends, but he has two Alachua County felony convictions from 2014; he also served a one-year sentence in state prison on a grand theft charge out of Polk County and was released in 2015. Judge James Colaw set bail at $53,500.

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.