Lakeland, Florida – A routine tag check at a red light led to two arrests on Saturday, November 1st, after a Polk County Sheriffs Office deputy noticed something unusual about a vehicle license plate.
According to PCSO, the deputy was stopped at the light at US 92 and Combee Road behind a red 2015 Hyundai. While waiting for the light, he ran the tag number. The query showed that the tag was not registered to a Hyundai at all. It came back assigned to a trailer.
The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, identified as fifty six year old Thomas Stokes of Lakeland. Stokes told the deputy he did not have a valid drivers license.
When asked about the incorrect tag, Stokes said the Hyundai had been given to him as a gift and that the tag was already attached when he received it. He claimed he only knew the man who gave him the vehicle by the first name Lucius.
Even though the story sounded questionable, the deputy continued investigating.
Deputies confirmed the vehicle was not listed as stolen. They found that the Hyundai was registered to a woman named Taunya. When contacted, she said it was registered in her name, but the car actually belonged to her son.
The deputy then contacted the son, who said the Hyundai stopped working. When he moved to North Carolina, he told his landlord Lucius to dispose of it.
Stokes story turned out to be true. However, Stokes was still arrested for driving while license suspended or revoked.
A passenger in the vehicle, identified as thirty nine year old Amy Eddy of Lakeland, also ended up in custody. Deputies learned she had an active warrant out of Marion County for Violation of Probation for Petit Theft.
Both Stokes and Eddy were transported to the Sheriffs Processing Center. The Hyundai was towed from the scene.
