KEY WEST, Fla. – A 40-year-old man was arrested Saturday after authorities say the GPS system installed inside of a Jeep led them to the stolen vehicle.
Paul Acerno was arrested on a charge of resisting arrest, however more charges from the Key West Police Department are likely pending, a spokesman from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said.
According to MCSO spokesman Adam Linhardt, Key West police issued a be-on-the-lookout alert shortly after 9:30 a.m. for a stolen orange Jeep.
Police said the Jeep had been left running unattended when Acerno got into the vehicle and drove away north on U.S. 1.
The owner used the GPS to relay its location to officers.
Linhardt said Deputy Tom Fricke “spiked the Jeep near Mile Marker 23.”
He said Acerno pulled over into an old shrimp farm property on Summerland Key and abandoned the vehicle, leaving it still running.
A U.S. Border Patrol K9 unit arrived to assist and Acerno was eventually found in the water nearby by officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.