A 46-year-old Lakeland man was detained Sunday evening after allegedly refusing to return a company vehicle following his termination from a concrete job.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Ricky Lee Gilbert is charged with a third-degree felony for grand theft of a motor vehicle.
According to records, Gilbert was engaged on October 24 to undertake concrete work. After failing to report on his first planned workday, Gilbert came for his second shift and worked for three days. His boss was displeased with his performance and sacked him.
Gilbert then refused to return the company-owned work truck provided to him, forcing the owner to report the theft to the Lakeland Police Department on November 1.
Later that evening, about 6:50 p.m., a sheriff’s officer observed the vehicle driving through the Combee Settlement area, also known as K-Ville. The deputy halted the vehicle off Farmer Brown Road and arrested Gilbert without incident.
Authorities took Gilbert to the Sheriff’s Processing Center for booking. Law enforcement agents later retrieved the stolen truck from Gilbert’s old employer.
Leave a Reply