Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies arrested James Register, 39, Jan. 7 on a third-degree felony for grand theft of a motor vehicle out of Holmes Beach.
The case began around 1 p.m., when the Holmes Beach Police Department received a call from a resident who said his white 2022 GMC Sierra may have been stolen.
The man said he had left the vehicle near his residence along Marina Drive around 11 a.m. with the keys in the ignition and realized it had gone missing around 1 p.m.
The man sought charges and provided a sworn affidavit. He also was on the phone with On-Star, which was tracking the vehicle driving northbound on Interstate 75.
An officer forwarded On-Star to HBPD dispatch for updates and for it to be forwarded to other agencies.
In Hillsborough County, HCSO deputies located the motorist around 2 p.m. and, with a deputy following in Register’s wake, On-Star deactivated the vehicle in an assisted traffic stop.
A deputy arrested Register, a homeless man who told the deputy, “I’m just trying to get to North Carolina,” according to a report.
The vehicle was towed by Hood’s Towing and information was provided to the owner for pickup.
The deputy transported Register to the Falkenburg Road jail in Tampa, where he remained in custody as of Jan. 14 under $2,000 bond.
If convicted, punishments for a third-degree felony charge includes up to five years in prison, five years in probation and a fine of up to $5,000.
An arraignment had not been scheduled as of Jan. 14, according to the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court’s website, hillsclerk.com.