BRONSON, FL (352today.com) – Hold on tight; this one has some twists to it.
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) says a man and woman are behind bars charged in a crime spree. But how they got there is what makes this case so bizarre.
Deputies arrested 33-year-old Kristen Lane and 26-year-old Julius Wright on Friday, June 7, and charged them with multiple felonies.
The sheriff’s office says their arrest closed four reported fraud cases, solved three residential burglary cases and deputies recovered nearly $10,000 in stolen property.
What happened
The sheriff’s office says a deputy was on patrol in the University Oaks subdivision on Thursday, June 6, when he saw a Ford Ranger tethered to a Dodge Ram.
Upon closer inspection, the deputy noticed that the Ram did not have a tag on it.
The Ram was also partially blocking the road.
Deputies say behind the Ranger and the Ram was a white Nissan Altima parked in a driveway.
Inside the Altima was a person seated in the driver’s seat–a person the deputy had recognized from previous encounters.
As the deputy drove by, he quickly ran the tag number of the Altima through the database and discovered the car was reported stolen.
The deputy then quickly called for additional assistance and returned to make contact with the driver, whom he knew as Kristen Lane of Bronson.
They say the driver of the Dodge Ram, Julius Wright of Bronson, was identified as he got out of the car.
From previous interactions, the deputy says he knew Wright was Lane’s boyfriend.
Further investigation from Levy County deputies confirmed the stolen car was taken from the Morriston area.
Deputies say they found 4 guns in the Altima, all of which were traced back to the house where the car was stolen.
Deputies say the Dodge Ram was also stolen but had not been reported as such.
Wright and Lane were both charged with the theft of the Dodge Ram truck.
In addition, Levy County slapped them with one count of grand theft auto and four counts of armed burglary and grand theft of firearms.
Deputies deemed the driver of the Ford Ranger to be innocent and released him.
But the story doesn’t stop there
During their investigation, deputies found multiple parcels of mail inside the Altima that did not belong to Lane, Wright nor the owner of the vehicle.
After further examination, detectives say they determined that Lane and Wright were engaged in a much larger fraud scheme.
They say they were stealing mail from mailboxes in a search for credit and debit cards.
The sheriff’s office says the couple would activate cards and make purchases both online and in stores.
Deputies obtained a search warrant on Lane and Wright’s home and say they found additional evidence to back their claims.
Investigators say most of the mailbox thefts happened in the University Oaks subdivision in Bronson.
Anyone with any further information, is urged to contact the Levy County Sheriff’s Office at 352-486-5111.