Arrest for Loitering Near Abandoned Stolen Vehicle

By Kathryn Wohlpart

On May 28, Dartavious Fowler was arrested for loitering or prowling after an officer observed him in the vicinity of a vacated stolen vehicle.

Officer Daniel Carney observed a black Toyota Camry with a single occupant that matched the description of a reported stolen vehicle making a U-turn. The Boca Raton Police Department started to prepare for a felony stop when the driver accelerated along N Dixie Highway and sped through a stop sign and a red light and making a turn.

Carney reported that he lost the car at that point and passed along a description of the occupant to other officers. Officer Graham “advised he located the vehicle unoccupied with the engine running…[and] that prior to locating the vehicle he observed a [male] with short wavy hair…walking towards N Federal Highway,” according to the police report.

Carney drove to the reported location and noted the described male walking across N Federal Highway at a forty-five degree angle and made contact with him for a pedestrian violation.

The male, later identified as Fowler, placed his hands in the air, “sweated profusely,” and stated, “I’m nervous.” Graham asked Fowler where he had come from and he stated that his girlfriend, “Aquilla,” had dropped him off just north of where Graham had stopped him.

Fowler spontaneously uttered, “you didn’t see me coming from no stolen car” and refused to continue talking. The officers tried to contact Fowler’s girlfriend and reached Aquilla’s cousin, Keisha, who stated that Aquilla had left an hour ago, alone, to get something to eat.

A K-9 Officer then arrived on the scene and traced Fowler’s scent from the abandoned car to where the officers had stopped him. Fowler was then arrested and brought into the police station for questioning where he requested legal council.