Sentenced for stealing fire rescue truck ‘with emergency lights activated,’ first responders were ‘on a call for service’

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (TND) — A repeat offender in Florida has been sentenced to prison for stealing an emergency vehicle. Jessie Charles Webb’s arrest report from March 9, 2022, said he “had been previously arrested in five different states.” The National Desk learned Webb was even arrested since the emergency vehicle incident and found booking photos from three Florida counties.

According to the arrest report, Webb stole the Ford F-550 valued at approximately £11,000 from a surgery center in The villages after first responders left it “unsecured and running with emergency lights activated since” since “they were on a call for service.” Also, “Villages Fire Rescue estimated F-550 to contain approximately £100,000 in various medical equipment to include tools, monitors, vital sign measurement devices, backboard, EMS radio equipment, and other life-saving medical equipment. The Ford F-550 is a basic life support vehicle utilized by emergency medical services.”

Sumter County sheriff’s deputies said witnesses identified Webb and “Fire Rescue was able to utilize a GPS tracker to locate the Ford F-550.” A helicopter and K9 units were also deployed. Then, Webb parked the truck and got out.

Witnesses identified him and the clothes he was wearing, while authorities got pictures of him from surveillance cameras in the area. The deputy who arrested Webb wrote that he was wearing the same clothes, and, “He had several scratches on his arms consistent with recently running through brush and was acting in a manner consistent with being nervous at the sight of my fully marked patrol vehicle.”

But there was another crime Webb was about to commit that he committed twice in different jurisdictions. “The defendant provided the false name ‘Justin C. Hawk’ with the false date of birth of ’09/26/1987′ while he was being lawfully detained.

A check of Sumter County Sheriff’s Office computer records and the tattoos on the defendant’s arms revealed his true identity.” According to the deputy, “The defendant claimed he had lied about his identity because he had warrants out of Georgia.” Then, “The defendant admitted to providing a false name to law enforcement and stated he did not steal anything.

“When confronted with photographs of himself, he claimed it was possible he had a twin brother he did not know about with the same tattoos that committed the theft. “The defendant could not advise why he stole the Ford F-550.” Webb, now 34, was charged with grand theft of £100,000 or more, grand theft of medical equipment from an emergency vehicle, and giving false ID to a law enforcement officer.

This was when authorities learned, “The defendant had been previously arrested in five different states. The defendant was previously convicted of false name to a law enforcement officer on 08/08/2018 in Forsyth, Georgia, and 08/26/20 in Marion County, Florida.” Eight months later, while the case was winding its way through the judicial system, Webb was arrested for violating a condition of his pretrial release.

Webb was arrested for domestic violence two months before the emergency vehicle theft. It happened in nearby Lake County. Webb trapped his victim in a shed and cut her with a knife.

He was charged with domestic aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment, and ordered not to have contact with the victim.

It turned out, he called her 177 times and was sentenced to five months and nine days in jail.

For the emergency vehicle thefts and false ID, he got five years in prison.