A Leesburg teen has been jailed after allegedly joyriding in a stolen car to Daytona and Tampa.
Precious Emerald Dean was booked Wednesday on a felony charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle at the Lake County Jail.
She was named in an arrest warrant issued June 9 in connection with the theft of a red 2012 Kia Soul in March from a gas station in Leesburg. The owner told police he left the vehicle running and the keys in the ignition while he stepped inside.
The vehicle was found March 22 by Marion County Sheriff’s Office after it had been abandoned in Summerfield. It was towed back to Leesburg by Ace’s Towing.
Police learned that Dean and others had taken the stolen vehicle to Daytona Beach and then to Tampa. Another individual was driving the car when an officer tried to pull it over. Dean told the driver the car was stolen. The driver fled at a high rate of speed.
Eyewitnesses and latent fingerprints helped connect Dean to the theft of the vehicle.
Bond has been set at $5,000.
