TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A convicted felon is back behind bars after deputies say he was caught in Tallahassee driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen.
According to The Leon County Sheriff's Office, on September 12 LCSO Real Time Crime Center alerted deputies and analysts to the location of a stolen vehicle in the area of Highway 90 and Geddie Road.
The black Chevrolet Malibu was stolen as a result of a home invasion in Jacksonville, Florida.
DLCSO says deputies attempted to make contact with the vehicle and the driver, 51-year-old William Randall, at a business in the 5800 block of West Tennessee Street.
According to the report, when deputies attempted to make contact with Randall inside the vehicle, Randall drove out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed.
Deputies later recovered the vehicle, unoccupied, in the area of Dreamers Lane and Summer Breeze Drive.
During the investigation, deputies learned Randall exited the vehicle and hitched a ride to the Kearney Center.
Deputies responded to the center and immediately identified Randall standing on the sidewalk, the report says.
Deputies also learned Randall threw a backpack he was carrying into the trash located in the driveway area of the center.
According to the report, deputies found the backpack which contained a loaded Glock handgun, 22 ammunition rounds, and a Florida driver’s license for William Larell Randall.
Randall told deputies the key to the vehicle was in a separate trash can, which deputies later recovered as stated in the report.
LCSO says Randall said he bought the car from someone and the handgun did not belong to him, but he placed it in the backpack when he exited the vehicle.
The handgun and stolen vehicle were seized on the scene.
Randall was confirmed to be a convicted felon and was arrested and transported to the Leon County Detention Facility, charged with fleeing or eluding police, grand theft motor vehicle, and 23 counts of possession of a weapon or ammo by a felon.
