Grand theft auto arrests

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Two individuals were arrested in late October by a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) after being found in possession of a vehicle that had been reported as stolen.
According to the report written by FHP, Trooper Dixon was conducting a routine patrol on Interstate 10 (I-10) within Jefferson County when he was dispatched to a disabled vehicle that was stationary near mile marker 222 in the westbound lane.
When Trooper Dixon arrived on the scene, he found a gray SUV parked on the north shoulder of the interstate. At the scene, Trooper Dixon made contact with a man, identified as 47-year-old Oscar Leon Barfield, Jr., and a woman, identified as 48-year-old Sandra Lynn Woodall.
It was Barfield who informed the state trooper that he and Woodall had been traveling in the vehicle when they ran out of gas and needed assistance. When Woodall identified herself as the vehicle's driver, Trooper Dixon offered to transport her to the nearest gas station so that she could purchase fuel.
However, when Trooper Dixon provided the vehicle's tag number and physical description to the Tallahassee Regional Communications Center, dispatchers discovered that the vehicle had previously been reported as stolen out of Georgia's Chatham County. Dispatchers informed Trooper Dixon of the vehicle's stolen status and advised him that the vehicle had been reported to be in the possession of a white male in his 40s, with grey hair – a physical description that matched Barfield.
Woodall and Barfield were detained at that time, and FHP Troopers Whritenour and Suchocki arrived on scene to assist Trooper Dixon.
Dispatchers obtained a physical description of the vehicle that had been reported stolen, with the report stating that the stolen vehicle had RV hookups in the front grill and a damaged hood – this description matched the vehicle that Barfield and Woodall had been driving.
When Woodall was read her Miranda Rights, she stated that she was the driver of the vehicle, but Barfield had also been operating the vehicle at some point during their travel. According to Woodall, she and Barfield had taken possession of the vehicle in Savannah, Ga., but she did not know the identify of the person who had given the vehicle to them.
After being read his Miranda Rights, Barfield told the troopers that he had acquired the vehicle from the owner.
At 5:36 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, Sandra Woodall and Oscar Barfield were placed under arrest for grand theft of a motor vehicle and both subjects were transported to the Jefferson County Jail.