Man charged with shoplifting, fighting at two Walmarts

FLEMING ISLAND – An Orange Park man was arrested for the third time in less than two weeks after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged him with shoplifting at the Middleburg Walmart and for assault at the Fleming Island Walmart.
Atravian DeVon Peake, 31, was arrested last week and charged with taking $886.57 from the Middleburg Walmart at 899 Blanding Blvd., on May 1. He also was charged with running from deputies in his car and on foot before he was caught after he crashed on Timber Lane in Orange Park.
While in jail, the sheriff’s department added more charges stemming from incidents at two Walmart stores.
An investigation revealed Peake already was wanted for a theft reported on April 25 after $157.37 worth of merchandise, including candy bars, two safes and a video projector, from the Middleburg Walmart. Last week, further investigation led to more charges related to an attempted shoplifting charge and battery against employees who were trying to stop him.
According to the latest report, Peake was stopped by three employees near the door of the Walmart on State Road 220 on Fleming Island. He threw merchandise at the employees, striking two, before getting away.
In all three cases, deputies said Peake loaded his cart with merchandise and left with in a car driven by an accomplice without paying.
Peake remained in jail without bond.

West Virginia man wanted for sex crimes caught on the St. Johns

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A 58-year-old fugitive wanted in West Virginia for failing to appear to answer charges of two counts sexual assault and four counts of sexual abuse by a parent was arrested on his sailboat near Springs Park.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Green Cove Springs Police Department and Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s Street Crimes Unit apprehended Hubert Woodruff Diamond on the St. Johns River.
Diamond was tracked to Green Cove Springs where his girlfriend owned property, U.S. Marshals said. He was found on a 134-foot vessel anchored in the river.
The U.S. Mountain State Fugitive Task Force and the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force worked with local law agencies to make the arrest on May 10.
Diamond was being held in the Clay County Jail without bond until he is extradited back to the Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg, W.V.

Keystone Heights man jailed for firing gun during argument, running from deputies

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A 52-year-old man was in jail without bond after deputies said he fired a gun during an argument before trying to outrun Clay County Sheriff deputies.
Joshua Russell Jr. was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed burglary, impersonating a police officer and attempting to flee with police lights and siren active.
According to the arrest report, deputies were called to a disturbance with a man firing a handgun on the porch. The man left the scene and sped away. He eventually was stopped on Wheaton Street, where deputies found a 9 mm pistol on the front seat. Deputies found a spent 9 mm casing on the front porch.
Russell had to be restrained by a hobble strap before being taken to the Clay County Jail, CCSO said.

Passed out man leads to arrest for DUI, multiple drug possessions

ORANGE PARK – Clay County Sheriff deputies found a man sleeping in his car in the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet parking lot on Blanding Boulevard on May 10, and that resulted in his arrest for driving under the influence and possession of several narcotics.
Deputies had trouble waking Chad Edward Knox, 38, of Jacksonville. After failing a sobriety test, a canine alerted CCSO deputies to drugs inside his car. Knox then was charged with DUI, possession of heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl and Alprazolam with intent to sell. He also was charged with possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Knox remained in jail with a $375,768 bond.

Shoplifter caught after tripping while being chased by mall security

ORANGE PARK – A 32-year-old man stumbled in the Orange Park Mall parking lot after he tried to escape from Sears with a $330 cordless power drill.
Danny Steve Studivant, of Baldwin, was arrested and charged with retail grand theft.
According to the arrest report, Studivant was trying to push a cart from the store to the Wells Road exit when a security officer with Sears tried to stop him. When he attempted to run away, he tripped in the parking lot and was caught.