ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. – A 25-year-old Stuart man was arrested Sunday in St. Augustine Beach after police spotted him getting into a car that had been reported stolen from Marion County, police said.
Robert Hardister told police that he knew the car Chrysler Sebring was stolen and that he was a drug dealer that had “fronted” an unknown individual methamphetamine in exchange for the car.
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According to the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, an officer on routine patrol in the 10th Street parking lot just east of A1A Beach Boulevard ran the 2007 Sebring's tag about 8 p.m. Sunday and learned it had been reported stolen.
He called for back-up and staked out the car until Hardister returned and unlocked it with a set of keys.
He was arrested as soon as he sat behind the wheel.
Hardister told police he had a lot of experience in “boosting” cars from individuals.
Police also learned Hardister had an active warrant out of North Carolina for violation of parole.
Hardister was charged with car theft and parole violation.
He is being held without bond in the St. Johns County Jail.
This was his second run-in with law enforcement over a stolen vehicle in less than a year.
Hardister was found asleep in a stolen 1998 Ford F-150 in a Jupiter Walmart parking lot last September, according to a report from WPTV. He was charged with grand theft auto in that case.