FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Chapman
Phone: (904) 255-3004
Cell: (904) 524-6626
ChapmanD@coj.net
February 28, 2024
DUVAL COUNTY JURY FINDS DAVIS GUILTY OF GRAND THEFT AUTO
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Willie Davis guilty of Grand Theft Auto. With the verdict, Davis faces up to five years in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Anthony Salem will sentence Davis at a later date.
On Dec. 24, 2022, Davis visited a car dealership on Cassat Avenue and test drove a truck with an employee in the passenger seat. The employee and Davis returned to the dealership and the employee showed Davis the remote start key fob while standing near the truck. The employee handed Davis the fob and turned to speak to a co-worker. When the employee turned back around, Davis had entered the truck and drove off the lot at a high rate of speed. The general manager of the dealership reported the stolen truck to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The dealership utilized an application to track the truck via GPS. Two days later, it began pinging its location at a motel off Youngerman Circle. Officers arrived to find a woman outside of the truck with the keys in her possession. She was detained as a witness. The witness advised officers Davis was in a room at the motel and he had given her a ride in the truck earlier that day. Officers presented a photo lineup to the car dealership employee who was able to positively identify Davis.
The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Nicholas Salatino and Susan Haag.