A Leesburg man was arrested for grand theft auto and cocaine possession a few minutes after midnight Tuesday.
A Lake County deputy sheriff had received a be-on-the-lookout bulletin for a silver SUV which had been reported stolen by the Clearwater Police Department. The deputy saw a silver SUV heading north on 14th Street make a right turn onto Oak Avenue. When the deputy got behind the SUV and read the license plate he could see it matched that of the stolen SUV.
As the deputy got closer to the stolen SUV it abruptly tuned into a driveway on Oak Avenue where the deputy placed 38-year-old- Marvin Ali Hall under arrest. The owner of the residence came out and told the deputy she did not know the driver and that the SUV does not belong at her house.
The deputy found a key to the SUV in Hall’s pocket. A search of the vehicle and surrounding area revealed a small baggie containing cocaine on the ground where Hall got out of the car. Several baggies similar to the one found on the ground were on the passenger’s seat.
Hall told the deputy that his girlfriend had given him permission to drive the SUV from Clearwater to Leesburg and that he did not know it was stolen. The deputy also found a license plate in the SUV that had been reported stolen by the Clearwater Police Department.
Hall was booked at the Lake County Jail where he was released after posting $4,000 bond.
