Man arrested after stealing and wrecking scooter

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Michael Paul Cremeans, 42, was arrested early yesterday morning and charged with grand theft, resisting an officer without violence, aggravated fleeing with injury, and leaving the scene of a crash involving damage to property.

Cremeans was pulled over at about 11:00 p.m. on February 1 for driving a scooter with no tag on the sidewalk. The Gainesville Police Department officer activated his lights and sirens and reported that Cremeans stopped the scooter, looked back directly at him, and told his unidentified female passenger to get off the scooter. He then drove away. The officer followed him for some time, until Cremeans reportedly started driving through the front and back yards of homes. The officer then stopped chasing him.

About three minutes later, the scooter was found crashed on the side of the road in the 1600 block of NE 19th Place. A K-9 track led directly from the scooter to Cremeans’ parents’ house, where he was located hiding behind a shed in the back yard. Cremeans allegedly ignored commands to stop and ran away through the yard, jumping fences in an attempt to escape. He was apprehended in his parents’ front yard.

The scooter had been stolen earlier in the day from the 1400 block of NW 7th Avenue.

Cremeans is out on bail in two other pending cases, one involving a stolen scooter and one involving drug possession. He is being held on $17,000 bail.

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.