2 Attempted To Steal Dodge Charger From BMW Dealer: Sarasota Sheriff

SARASOTA, FL — A man and a woman face charges after trying to steal a white Dodge Charger from a BMW dealership on Clark Road early Tuesday morning, according to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Payton Robinson, 18, of Tampa and Haley Aldridge, 20, of Orlando were arrested and charged with attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle.

The crime correlates with ongoing statewide and nationwide trends of Dodge Challenger and Charger thefts, the sheriff’s office said.

Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, a deputy saw a gray Dodge Charger with its lights off speeding on Clark Road.

While that deputy pursued that vehicle, the sheriff’s office received a 911 call about three people breaking into and trying to steal a white Dodge Charger from the BMW car lot, the agency said.

The vehicle pursuit ended because of dangerous speeds, but not long after this, a crash involving a gray Dodge Charger was reported on I-75 north of Clark Road.

The caller said multiple people ran from the scene. With help from a Sarasota Police Department officer and his K-9, two of the three suspects — Robinson and Aldridge — were tracked and taken into custody.

Deputies learned that Aldridge, the registered owner of the gray Charger, also violated probation from a previous robbery charge in Florida.