Truck and trailer stolen from Tampa recovered at NE Walmart

Davonte Lavaron Grady, 23, of Tampa was arrested yesterday afternoon in the Walmart parking lot on NE 12th Avenue.

Following an alert from a license plate reader in the area, a Gainesville Police Department officer driving through the parking lot of Walmart at about 1:45 p.m. yesterday saw a white Ford Explorer with a utility trailer that matched the description of a truck and trailer reported stolen in Hillsborough County.

The officer approached the man sitting in the driver’s seat of the Explorer and read him his Miranda rights. When he asked the man for his identification, the man reportedly said he didn’t have any, but he provided a name and birthday of Rashaun L. Andrews, 4/2/1998. However, a records check of that name and birthdate did not produce any results. A “third party” provided Grady’s true identity, and the officer was able to match a photograph of Davonte Grady in Florida’s driver and vehicle identification system with the suspect.

Grady reportedly told the officer that he had purchased the Explorer and trailer from a family member for $5,600, with an agreement to pay $200 per month. However, the officer wrote, Grady was unable to provide a name or contact number to confirm the purchase.

While trying to determine the man’s identity, the officer searched the interior of the Explorer for any identifying information. During the search, a loaded Glock 43 pistol was located in the glove compartment; the pistol turned out to be reported stolen in Tampa.

Grady has 14 previous felony-level convictions, most recently a conviction in October 2019 for grand theft of a firearm in Hillsborough County. Grady is being charged with grand theft of a firearm, grand theft of the trailer, grand theft – auto, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and giving false identification information to a law enforcement officer. Grady is being held on $155,000 bond.