June 24, 2024
Deputy Jack Morris was on patrol in the University Oaks Subdivision on June 6th when he saw a Ford Ranger tethered to a Dodge Ram. The Ram didn’t have a tag on it and was partially blocking the road. Behind both vehicles was a white Altima parked in driveway with a person seated in the driver’s seat that he knew from prior encounters. As he drove by he saw the tag on the Altima and ran the tag number through our database. He received an immediate response that the car was reported stolen.
Deputy Morris immediately called for additional assistance and returned to make contact with the driver of the Altima whom he knew as Kristen Lane (8/11/90) of Bronson. Upon his return he also identified Julius Wright (9/20/97) of Bronson as he exited the Dodge Ram. Deputy Morris knew Wright was Lane’s boyfriend.
Deputy Morris’s investigation determined that the Altima was stolen from the Morriston area of Levy County. Deputies found 4 guns in the Altima. The guns were taken from the same residence where Altima was stolen from. The Ram truck had not been reported stolen but through his diligent investigation determined that vehicle too was stolen, but the theft had not been discovered by the owners and reported. Wright and Lane were both charged with theft of the Dodge Ram truck. The driver of the Ranger was determined to be innocent of any crime and released. But this did not stop the investigation. Lane and Wright were arrested for grand theft auto and four counts of armed burglary and grand theft of firearms.
Deputy Morris observed multiple parcels of mail inside the Altima that did not belong to the owners of these vehicles or to the suspects.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division responded to the scene and aided in the investigation. The mail was examined and the intended recipients were tracked down. Detectives found that Lane and Wright were engaged in a much larger fraud scheme and were stealing mail from mailboxes, specifically searching for credit and debit cards. They would activate the found cards and make purchases on-line and in stores. Deputies executed a search warrant on Lane and Wright’s residence, and recovered additional evidence.
In total Detectives have closed four reported fraud cases, solved three residential burglary cases and recovered nearly $10,000 in stolen or fraudulently obtained property. Both defendants have been charged with at total 16 felonies. These recoveries are the result of two search warrants and multiple interviews.
Detectives believe additional victims may be identified. Most all of the mailbox thefts committed by Lane and Wright were in the University Oaks Subdivision in Bronson. Anyone with information on this can contact the Levy County Sheriff’s Office at 352-486-5111 ext: 267. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-877-349-8477.