Suspected Thief Wanted In 2 Counties Found “Lethargic” In Stolen Vehicle In Lady Lake

LADY LAKE, Florida—A man already wanted in Lake and Marion counties caught a few more charges after he spent several hours in a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of Sam’s Club Friday.

Lady Lake Police Department responded to Sam’s Club, 755 North U.S. Highway 27/441 in reference to a suspicious person who had been in his vehicle for several hours, according to an arrest affidavit.

 LLPD found Earl Lee Dorey, 33, whose address is listed as “Homeless, Summerfield” in the red Chevrolet Equinox that was reported stolen from Sumter County and found that he was “very lethargic” as they removed him from the vehicle.

Dorey told police he did not know where he was or how he got into the SUV and police found he had active warrants from both Lake and Marion counties. Police searched the stolen SUV and found a small amount of methamphetamine and a glass pipe with residue, the affidavit states.

Dorey was arrested for grand theft of a motor vehicle, possession of methamphetamine and possession drug paraphernalia. He is also facing a grand theft charge and burglary stemming from a Leesburg case in December.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Dorey went to Tobacco Planet, 10401 U.S. Highway 441, Suite A5 Leesburg on Dec. 13 to make a purchase. He parked next to employee who left his wallet in his unlocked vehicle and the victim discovered his wallet, which contained his identification, several credit cards, and $600 cash, missing. The victim found that several Cash App transactions had been made in the name of Earl L. Dorey and money had been transferred from his bank account, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The victim then began searching social media and jail records and found a photo of Dorey; he compared the photo to surveillance video from the store and located Dorey on video making a purchase with a Cash App credit and found video of him parking next to the victim’s truck and turned over his finding to Leesburg Police.

Dorey is being held in the Lake County Jail on $29,000 bond. It is unclear what charges he is facing in Marion County.

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