Stolen car suspect stopped with someone else's ID and a prong from a stun gun, cops say

UMATILLA, Fla. (TND) — "A stolen vehicle 'pinging' in the" parking lot of a Dollar General store led to the suspected thief's arrest but not until he was tased and tackled.

“The dealership that owns the vehicle installed a tracking GPS device into the vehicle after they purchased it,” the arrest report said.

A deputy stood near the 2017 Kia Soul in the parking lot in Florida on June 30 and wrote about watching “the defendant, Joseph Cates, approach the vehicle and get into the driver seat.

“I pulled behind the vehicle and activated my emergency lights,” the deputy continued. “I instructed the defendant to place his hands out the window and he complied.

“The defendant did put his hands back into the car multiple times but complied when given instructions to put them back outside the window.

“When asked to throw the keys out of the vehicle, the defendant threw a screwdriver out of the vehicle, stating that it was what he used to start the vehicle.”

Then, apparently quickly, he told the deputy his name “and he worked for the car dealership,” and “then opened the door and took off running south of the location.

“While pursuing him on foot, I fired my Taser once.

“One probe struck him in the back, but the Taser was ineffective due to only one probe hitting him. I fired my Taser again and both probes missed.

“I closed the distance between myself and the defendant, and escorted him to the ground.

“I was able to retrieve one of his hands, but he refused to give me his other hand.

“He stated he could not breathe, and that is why he would not give me his hands.

“He pulled away from me. I grabbed him again.

“Two citizens [names] came over and aided me with securing the defendant.”

Another deputy took Cates back to the parking lot where paramedics treated him.

“The defendant had a glass pipe and his pocket,” the deputy reported, “with white powder residue and a burnt substance.

“The substance field tested positive for methamphetamines.”

Then, authorities searched the car and reported finding a screwdriver (“separate from the one he used to start the car”), a drill, and a pair of cable cutters.

Also, they mentioned a Florida ID with the name of the person they said Cates gave before he took off.

“The defendant resembled the [name] subject and appeared to be using it as a fake identification,” the arrest report said.

Also, they conducted “an inspection of the vehicle’s ignition” and it “showed the vehicle's ignition was damaged and the defendant used a screwdriver to act as a key to the ignition.”

In the end, paramedics took Cates to the hospital “due to chest pain.

“The defendant claimed he purchased the vehicle for approximately $45 worth of fentanyl,” the arrest report said. “The stolen vehicle is valued at around $10,000.”

Cates was medically cleared and taken to jail for grand theft auto, possession with intent to use burglary tools, and resisting without violence; plus, failure to appear for driving with a suspended license.

He was also charged with dealing in stolen property, but prosecutors later decided not to pursue it.