Five arrests made

Delores L. Walker

Authorities say a spree of criminal activity by five Suwannee County residents started with a “beer run” at a Suwannee County convenience store and ended with their arrests, with felony charges ranging from grand theft auto and burglary, according to a report filed by Sgt. John Young, Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office.



Arrested and being held in the Suwannee County Jail are Patrick Lance Cope, 18; Robert Lee Lynch, 19; David Mikel Summerall, 24 and James McQuire Thomas, 19, all of Live Oak.



Johnathan Michael Hurst, 24, also of Live Oak, was arrested in Taylor County and remains in the Taylor County Jail.



As the trail of crime by the five unfolded, Lafayette County Sheriff’s deputies say they discovered that from the time of the “beer run” in Suwannee County the five stole a red Ford Aspire, then drove to Lafayette County where they stole a white pickup.



According to the report, the five suspects divided into two groups and drove the two stolen vehicles to Perry.



Sgt. Young said he responded to a call to meet with Rex Lewis Foxx at Keen’s Forest Management on CR 290 regarding a burglary at the shop and a possible stolen truck.



Young said an investigation at the shop revealed that the shop door had been kicked in as the point of entry for the suspects.



Foxx, an employee at the shop, listed several items that were missing.



Foxx also told Young that Lafayette County Deputy Lance Walker had contacted him at approximately 2 a.m. the morning of April 15 in reference to a stolen vehicle, a 1995 Ford F-150 truck with a flatbed trailer attached. Foxx confirmed that the truck and flatbed trailer were missing from the shop.



When Young continued the investigation he said he learned that the pickup truck in question had been recovered by Taylor County Sgt. Buddy Lee.



According to Lee he stopped the vehicle during a routine traffic stop for excessive speed. Lee said when the vehicle stopped both the passenger and the driver exited the vehicle and ran into the woods.



The passenger, Johnathan M. Hurst, was arrested, but the driver, David M. Summerall, escaped and made his way down the Foley cutoff road in Taylor County, Lee said, where he stole another vehicle, a white “dually” pickup.



According to the report, Summerall drove the stolen vehicle back to Live Oak.



Sworn statements taken by Live Oak Police Officer Joel Brown, included information that Cope, Thomas and Lynch drove back to Live Oak after seeing Hurst and Summerall being stopped by Sgt. Lee in Taylor County.



In his statement to the police, Thomas said they returned to Live Oak in the red Ford Aspire, which they later drove into a pond near Wayne Frier’s Mobile Home Park.



According to Young the investigation revealed that the five individuals from Suwannee County allegedly went from stealing beer, to gas and then three vehicles before the criminal activity was over.



They are charged with several felonies, including grand theft auto and burglary in three different counties, Suwannee, Lafayette and Taylor.