Man arrested for trying to steal car from man who had been trying to help him

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Steven Keith Shaw, 37, was arrested last night and charged with burglary and attempted theft of a vehicle after allegedly trying to steal a car from a man who had been trying to help him.

At about 10 p.m. last night, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a call about someone actively trying to steal a car. The deputy reportedly found Shaw and a witness struggling inside a car that was parked in the driveway of a residence. The deputy removed Shaw from the car and placed him in handcuffs.

The owner of the car told the deputy that he had been inside the residence when he heard the horn of his car and went outside, where he saw the witness trying to stop Shaw from taking the car. He said he had recently met Shaw, had purchased clothes for him, and was trying to get help for him because he appeared to be homeless.

The witness told the deputy that he saw Shaw grab the car keys and run out of the residence; he was able to get the keys away from Shaw during the struggle inside the car.

Shaw also has a pending sworn complaint, filed on May 6 by a woman who said her son, who was in jail at the time, had allowed Shaw to drive his car, but Shaw had stopped communicating with the woman or her son and had refused to return the car. The complaint charged Shaw with grand theft of a vehicle.

On May 1, Shaw was charged with reckless driving following a crash that reportedly caused $35,000 worth of damage; the car listed in the citation is the same as the one that was reported stolen on May 6.

Bail information is unavailable on weekends.

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.