Two Suspects From Georgia Arrested After Trying to Steal a Vehicle in Merritt Island
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard Sheriff // April 26, 2023
Suspects earned a free trip to 'Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge'
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article is written by Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – These two right here must be out their dang minds to try and get away with stealing a car in Brevard County this morning.
Regardless, just before 7 a.m., our team received a call regarding a stolen vehicle where the victim had reportedly pulled into the Circle K Gas Station on North Courtenay Parkway in Merritt Island, and left his keys in the vehicle while going inside the store.
While inside patronizing the store, the victim observed a male suspect entering his vehicle and taking off. The vehicle went behind the gas station, where the suspect picked up another person, a few of their belongings, and then sped away from the store.
Now, while leaving your keys inside the car is NEVER a good idea, it still doesn’t give a thief the right to steal your car, so thankfully it wasn’t long before Deputies located the vehicle and began to conduct a rolling surveillance while waiting for our helicopter, STAR, to be our eye in the sky.
As STAR surveilled the vehicle making its way north from Merritt Island, our great partners at Titusville PD were notified and subsequently stopped the vehicle, taking both suspects into custody.
As it would turn out, the driver, Rude Williams, and the passenger, Kelvin Thomas, were looking for a way back to Georgia where they are from, and saw an opportunity to steal the victim’s car thinking they would be home free.
Apparently, being from Georgia they were unaware of how things are done here and that we don’t play that crap in the state of Florida and especially in Brevard County.
Williams was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and given a $10,000 bond, along with additional charges from Titusville PD, and Thomas was charged with criminal conspiracy and given a $5,000 bond.
Both earned a free ride to their new home at “Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge” and also got a free T-Shirt that says…”I Messed Around And Found Out” in Brevard County.
– Sheriff Wayne Ivey
