OKEECHOBEE — After carrying some items from her 2019 Jeep into her office and then coming back outside, a woman looked up to see her vehicle being driven out of the parking lot, traveling towards Northwest 240th Street. She contacted her husband thinking he might have picked up the vehicle for some reason but was told he did not. She began yelling and chased the vehicle as it continued toward the street. She ran up and banged on the driver’s side window, demanding the driver exit the vehicle, and surprisingly, he did. She described him as a white male wearing blue jeans and no shirt. She said he began walking east on Northwest 240th Street.
She contacted her employer, who responded immediately, along with her husband and several employees. Law enforcement was contacted. The woman’s employer asked the man who had been driving the car to wait for law enforcement to arrive, and he reportedly sat on the ground to wait.
Okeechobee County Deputy Matthew Huffman responded to the call at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Sept. 14. Stephen Barton, 33, U.S. 441 Southeast, was arrested and charged with grand theft auto and introducing contraband into a detention facility. Bond was set at $5,000.
The contraband charge stems from a small, clear baggy containing a white, granular substance reportedly found in the right front coin pocket of his blue jeans during booking.