A local man prevented another man from stealing a car with two children inside Saturday afternoon.
At about 2:30 p.m. at 3520 NE Waldo Road, Randy Randell Randolph III of Lake Butler got in the driver’s seat of a car after the driver went inside to pay for gas, according to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report. When the two children began to scream as Randolph started the engine, Robert Gibbs of Dignity Village stepped in and pulled him out of the driver’s seat.
Randolph, 23, then ran southbound when officers arrived, Gainesville Police Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email.
He was eventually caught by police around the area of 3330 NE Waldo Road. Gainesville Police arrested Randolph on one charge of carjacking without a weapon, one charge of resisting an officer without violence and one kidnapping charge.
Officers took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he remained as of press time in lieu of a $210,000 bond.
Randolph was arrested the night before on misdemeanor marijuana charges, according to county records.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 6/2/15]
