MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 42-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of stealing a Marion County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle and leading deputies on a high-speed chase.
James Marion Brady’s conviction came after a one-day jury trial in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
On Oct. 26, 2024, deputies responded to a suspicious incident near SE 59th Street in Ocala. Upon arrival, investigators said Brady told officers he needed medical assistance, claiming he had used drugs.
While waiting for emergency medical services, Brady suddenly ran toward the deputies’ parked patrol vehicles, entered one, and drove off. Deputies pursued him in a brief, high-speed chase.
The chase ended at the intersection of State Road 200 and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, where a deputy used a PIT maneuver to stop the stolen vehicle. Brady was arrested at the scene.
Brady was found guilty of burglary of an authorized emergency vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.