Police nabbed a suspect who was spotted driving a golf cart stolen from a hotel in The Villages.
A detective with the Lady Lake Police Department received a tip last week about a golf cart stolen Feb. 14 from the Comfort Suites hotel at 1202 Avenida Central. The tipster indicated that 32-year-old Jonathan Ryan Cuppels of Fruitland Park had been spotted driving the golf cart near Carlton Village in Lady Lake.
The detective on Friday was canvassing the area and found Cuppels driving the golf cart. The detective activated the lights and sirens of his patrol car, but Cuppels drove the golf cart into a wooded area. He abandoned the golf cart and fled on foot. The detective confirmed the golf cart was the same one stolen from Comfort Suites.
Another police officer spotted Cuppels at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday walking on Griffin View Drive. The officer apprehended Cuppels after a foot chase.
He is facing charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. He was booked at the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $5,000.
