Staff report

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Drew Scott Johnson, 37, of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, was arrested Saturday after allegedly stealing multiple e-bikes during a weekend event at Gatorback Cycle Park in Newberry.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to the venue, where a victim said his e-bike had been stolen, and he had an Air Tag on it. The victim and deputy tracked the bike to the area of Johnson’s RV, and Johnson reportedly allowed the deputy to conduct a search of the interior of the RV, but the e-bike was not found. The victim still believed the e-bike was in the RV, so he asked Johnson to open the bottom exterior storage compartments, and Johnson reportedly said he did not have the key to the compartments. The victim used an app to make the Air Tag produce an audible alarm, and the deputy reported that he could hear the noise coming from within the storage compartment.

Johnson reportedly admitted at that point that the bike was in the compartment and produced the key; after the compartment was opened and the e-bike was found, Johnson reportedly stated that he bought the bike for parts from an unknown person. The e-bike was reportedly valued at about $4,000, and the battery, valued at about $2,000, was reportedly not found.

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While the deputy was investigating the above theft, another victim approached and said he was also missing an e-bike. A detective obtained a search warrant for Johnson’s RV and utility trailer to look for several missing e-bikes and motorcycles, and while executing the search warrant, detectives reportedly found the frame and wheels of the second victim’s e-bike, hanging on the side of an enclosed trailer and covered by a towel. Two Honda mini dirtbikes were also reportedly found, with the serial numbers removed.

Post Miranda, Johnson declined to answer questions, so deputies were unable to ask where the missing battery was, among other questions.

Johnson has been charged with two counts of grand theft and two counts of possession of vehicles with altered serial numbers. He has been in the area for about 10 days; he has out-of-state criminal convictions spanning 2000 to 2023 and a federal conviction from 2018. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $40,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.