Davis
Police arrested a man Saturday at a Franklin car dealership after he tried to buy a car with a stolen identity.
Jovan Davis, 34, was arrested on charges of fraud, identity deception, resisting law enforcement, possession of a false government ID, forgery and possession of marijuana. He was also wanted on a Marion County warrant for auto theft, according to online court records.
Franklin police responded to a report of fraud just after 10 a.m. Saturday to a car dealership in the 3000 block of N. Morton Street, according to a Franklin Police Department report.
An employee told police a man who identified himself as a 42-year-old Indiana man came into the used showroom at the dealership to apply for financing to purchase a 2018 Dodge Challenger for about $46,000. The employee said the man provided an Indiana driver’s license. When the dealership ran the man’s credit report, they received an alert showing that someone with that name was a victim of identity theft, but Davis was able to answer all of the security questions. The employee told the man he would have to come back Saturday with proof of insurance to pick up the vehicle, according to the report.
A salesman received a text Saturday morning from Davis saying he was on his way from Indianapolis to get the vehicle, the report said.
Police contacted the identity theft victim, a Maryland man who said he had never lived in Indiana. The victim said his identity was stolen in October, and he made a report with his local police agency. He said this was the third attempt to buy a vehicle using his information. He said there were also more than two attempts to open credit card accounts without his permission, according to the report.
Police submitted a copy of the fake ID to the Indianapolis Intelligence Fusion Center for them to run through their facial recognition software, the report said.
Police waited for Davis at the car dealership. They noticed a grey Chevrolet Tahoe with dark tinted windows pull into the lot. Police went inside the showroom to wait for Davis. Shortly after stepping inside, the Chevrolet Tahoe began to back out of the parking space it was sitting in. Police ran outside to flag down the vehicle, and it eventually stopped on the far west end of the lot near the exit, according to the report.
Police recognized the passenger to be the man from the picture on the ID given to the car dealership on Friday. After patting him down, Davis began to walk away saying, “I’m not detained.” Police told him he was in fact detained and escorted him to the hood of the Tahoe. An officer attempted to handcuff him, but Davis clenched his fist and threw his arm downward while twisting his wrist, breaking the officer’s grasp on his arm. He quickly turned and began running across U.S. 31 toward a trailer park, the report said.
Police chased Davis on foot into the trailer park, but lost sight of him. The chase ended at a shed between two trailers after they noticed evidence of a break-in. Once additional backup including a K9 arrived, they opened the shed door and saw Davis standing inside. They ordered him out of the shed and onto the ground, according to the report.
Police searched him and found a broken padlock shank in his jacket pocket and a clear bag of green/brown plant material. Officers told Davis they had been called by the car dealership to investigate possible fraud and asked him if he was at the dealership on Friday. He stared at them with no response. They asked him what his name was. He again stared at them with no response, the report said.
Police received an email response from the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center with a possible match for the picture they had sent. The Fusion Center said the picture was a possible match for “Jovan Davis 4/24/1987.” Davis confirmed that was in fact him.
He was taken to the Johnson County jail where he is held on $15,200 bond.
