Cops: Thief Caught Driving Stolen Car Days Later

BRADENTON, FL — While many accused car thieves ditch the rides one way or another within short time to avoid getting caught with the evidence, that wasn’t the case in Bradenton recently.

According to the Bradenton Police Department, a man wanted in connection with a March 3 armed robbery and auto theft was caught Monday driving the hot vehicle.

The initial crime occurred in the 100 block of 15th Avenue Circle West just before 9 p.m. March 3. Police say two victims were heading inside their home when they were approached by a man with a handgun. The man demanded the keys to the victims’ vehicle, got them and took off.

The two victims weren’t hurt in the incident, but they did report the vehicle as stolen right away, police said.

Several days went by with no trace of the vehicle. As fate would have it, a Manatee County deputy happened to spot the stolen ride around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 7, the police department wrote in an email to media. The deputy pulled the vehicle over, found two occupants inside, and brought them both to the police department for questioning.

During a subsequent photo line-up, the victims identified their attacker as one of the two occupants the deputy caught in vehicle, the police department said.

Rocky Valeur, 22, of Bradenton now faces armed robbery and grand theft auto charges. The sheriff’s office also charged him with a serious assault on a law enforcement officer, driving on a suspended license and resisting arrest, according to jail records. He remained in the Manatee County Jail Tuesday without bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Manatee County Jail

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