A Leesburg man was arrested for grand theft auto when a stolen vehicle was discovered parked in his driveway.
Law enforcement got word of a stolen black Chevy Equinox headed eastbound on County Road 44 in Leesburg at 1:25 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies began to search for the vehicle while being told the suspect was believed to be 50-year-old Eric Manuel Alvarez.
Deputies then deployed a drone over his residence on Camellia Drive, confirming the vehicle was parked in his driveway. Alvarez was seen around an air compressor near the vehicle as he went in and out of it several times. While watching him in unmarked patrol vehicles, deputies learned he had an active warrant for battery by strangulation (domestic) out of Orange County, the report said.
Alvarez was subsequently arrested on charge of grand theft auto and booked at the Lake County Jail.