Accused Truck Thief Takes Victim On Wild Ride

RIVERVIEW, FL — A Riverview man was arrested Thursday after being accused of stealing a pickup truck and then taking its owner on a wild ride.

Around 8:30 p.m. July 18, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies went to the Gibsonton Mobile Home Park after receiving a call that a pickup had been stolen from the yard of one of the homes.

An hour later, the victim and a friend went looking for the truck and found it at the Gibtown Inn at 11545 U.S. 41 in Gibsonton. They tried to block the truck from leaving the parking lot but the man who stole it, later identified as Eniel Marzo-Alayo, 34, of Carlsdale Drive in Riverview, drove past them. As the truck sped away, the victim and his friend jumped into the bed of the truck.

Alayo began driving recklessly south on U.S. 41, accelerating and swerving from side to side in an attempt to throw the two men out of the bed.

A deputy spotted the incident and began following the pickup truck for a short distance but stopped in keeping with the sheriff's policy not to engage in high-speed pursuits.

A short time later, 911 dispatchers received a call of a crash with injuries at the intersection of North Street and Ekker Street. When deputies arrived, they found the pickup truck crashed into a ditch. The two victims had minor injuries and Alayo had run from the scene.

Alayo went to a home in the 7600 block of Wood Violet Drive, where he climbed through an unlocked bedroom window to hide out. He then grabbed a set of keys he found in the house and attempted to steal the car parked in the driveway of the home but realized the keys didn't fit the ignition.

He was found walking down Wood Violet Drive, and was arrested by deputies.

He's been charged with two counts of fleeing and eluding and kidnapping.