A Live Oak man arrested last Wednesday on charges of grand theft auto will be charged in a Blountstown burglary committed while the vehicle was allegedly in his possession, Major Rodney Smith of the Blountstown Police Department said Tuesday.

The vehicle, a metallic blue 2004 Ford Explorer, was stolen from the home of Superintendent of Schools Jerry Scarborough the night of March 17, said Chief Deputy Ron Colvin of the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office. The SUV was recovered on 133rd Road just north of CR 136 the next morning, its engine still running.

The K-9 unit from Hamilton Correctional Institution, called out at about 7:30 a.m. on March 18, trailed a scent from the vehicle south across CR 136 and through a weed field where they observed size 12 shoe prints, according to a press release from Hamilton Correctional Institution. The trail led them to the home of Daniel Jay Brost, 39, at 9016 131st Loop, where they reportedly saw the same shoe prints at the front door.

Brost was charged with grand theft auto and trespassing and was booked into the Suwannee County Jail, where he remained as of Tuesday morning.

Colvin said damage to the rear of the vehicle appeared consistent with evidence collected in the Blountstown burglary with which Brost has been charged. Sheriff’s reports indicate the damage was “consistent with the vehicle being backed into a building.” The rear window was also broken out.

After putting out an alert, Suwannee authorities learned that on the night of March 17, a metallic blue SUV had backed through the wall of a cash advance business in Blountstown, resulting in the theft of several hundred dollars. The burglar apparently entered the business through the hole in the wall created by the vehicle, Blountstown police reports indicate.

Authorities at the crime scene in Blountstown recovered shoe prints that match those of Brost, Suwannee sheriff’s reports indicate.

An employee at the business reportedly named her ex-boyfriend, Brost, as a possible suspect. She reportedly told authorities she had seen him in a blue SUV with the rear window broken out. Blountstown police reports indicate the ex-girlfriend had no recent contact with Brost except a phone call about two weeks before the burglary.

Smith praised Suwannee authorities for their investigative work.

“I was really impressed by the Suwannee County deputies,” he said by phone Tuesday. “They knew just what to do.”

Smith said Brost would eventually be extradited to Blountstown, where he will face charges of burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief, police reports show.

Blountstown, in Calhoun County, is about 130 miles west of Live Oak.

Brost recently completed a two-year prison term for burglary, grand theft, credit card fraud and witness intimidation. He was released on Feb. 1, according to the Florida Department of Corrections Web site.