Grand theft asphalt: Florida man nabbed after rolling away with $8K in traffic rumble strips
If you’ve ever driven over highway rumble strips, you know they are designed to wake you up. Ironically, one Davenport man is probably wishing he’d stayed asleep on Monday after a hilariously bold roadside heist completely backfired.
It all started around 6:41 p.m. on June 8, 2026, when a Polk County Sheriff’s deputy was called out to a construction zone on US 17/92. A representative from Central Florida Traffic Control had noticed something missing. Specifically, the massive, heavy-duty rumble strips they had just laid down to keep drivers alert.
The mystery didn’t stay a mystery for long, mostly because the thief wasn’t exactly pulling off a Mission: Impossible operation.
Earlier in the day, the company rep had spotted a GMC Sierra cruising past the construction site. Attached to the back of the truck was a wheelchair lift. And sitting right there on the lift, out in the open, was a stack of rubber road strips. The worker did a double-take, checked the road, and realized their $8,000 worth of traffic gear had literally hitched a ride.
Deputies didn’t have to look hard to solve this one. They followed the trail to a home on County Road 547, where the GMC Sierra was parked outside.
When law enforcement knocked on the door, 60-year-old Jackie Ray Dove came out and admitted to the grand theft. The heavy-duty strips were returned to the construction crew, and Dove was hauled off to jail, officially charged with felony grand theft. Next time, he might want to just stick to the bumpy road.
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