He stole a car, drove it into the woods and set it on fire, cops say

A Bradenton man has been charged with stealing an older man’s car, then setting it on fire, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

In the parking lot of the Peter & Julie Cummings Library in Palm City on April 6, 49-year-old Randall Hole was seen sitting with a small suitcase. The 71-year-old victim, on his way into the library for a meeting, said “hello” to Hole, with no response.

While signing into a meeting, the victim said he felt a hand in his back pocket. According to the probable cause affidavit, it was Hole standing behind him, who then told the man, “I met you in the parking lot.”

It was only when the victim left the library that he realized the keys to his white Toyota RAV4 were missing.

Later a white RAV4 sped past sheriff’s deputies, driving recklessly at a rate faster than 100 miles per hour, according to the sheriff’s office. A deputy started chasing the car, then stopped because of safety concerns, last seeing the car travel west past Dupuis Forest Reserve, which is about 30 miles from the library.

In a video taken by the Martin County Unit Air One, a white car can be seen engulfed in flames inside the forest. A man identified as Hole wore a white shirt completely unbuttoned and can be seen talking to a passenger in a car driving by. He walked around on the side of the road, waving his arms up to the helicopter.

When deputies apprehended Hole, he said his girlfriend picked him up in Stuart and that he was “looking for his old lady who wrecked the car into the woods,” according to the affidavit. Then, he told deputies his girlfriend was just a friend, and then he became uncooperative, according to the affidavit. After being transported to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigations division on April 18, he said he didn’t remember taking the car or running away from law enforcement.

Hole faces charges of grand theft, battery on a person 65 years or older, fleeing at a high speed, criminal mischief between $200 and $1,000 and driving with a suspended license. His bond was set at $162,000.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 8:43 AM with the headline "He stole a car, drove it into the woods and set it on fire, cops say."