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OCALA, Fla. - The Ocala Police Department is proud to announce the successful apprehension of a career criminal with the help of two heroic citizens. On the morning of October 24, Michael Prouty, 39, forced his way into a woman's home in the Villages and stole her purse, cell phone, and car from the garage. Later that same day, Prouty was found driving the stolen car in Ocala.
Sgt. Buetti initiated a traffic stop, but Prouty fled from police. After a few moments of a vehicle pursuit, he crashed into several vehicles at the intersection of N. Pine Ave. and SR 40.
After the crash, Prouty fled the scene, which left multiple people injured. As he was running away, he encountered our first heroic citizen, Mr. Tom Episcopo, who was able to grab ahold of Prouty. Although Prouty broke free, he was slowed down by Mr. Episcopo.
Prouty attempted to carjack a woman while she was in a Starbucks drive-thru nearby. Another heroic citizen intervened and attempted to pull Prouty out of the vehicle. Prouty ran off again but was followed closely by the heroic citizen. The heroic citizen apprehended Prouty behind Starbucks for a few moments until police were able to secure him in handcuffs.
Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said, “We are proud of these two citizens for their heroic action, for helping our officers make the arrest, and for keeping our community safe.” Chief Balken added, “We would like to let these heroic citizens know that we are currently hiring police officers, and we invite them to apply to our agency!”
Mr. Prouty is currently in the Marion County Jail and is facing multiple charges from our agency, including fleeing and eluding, attempted carjacking, and others. He was also involved in a robbery of a 7-Eleven convenience store in the early hours of Oct. 24, before the home invasion incident in Sumter County.
More about Mr. Prouty:
Additionally, Mr. Prouty was sent to prison in 2017 for six years on burglary and robbery charges. He was released from prison in July 2022 on a community release program which he violated and committed more felony crimes in Miami-Dade County. He returned to prison to finish his initial sentence and was released in February 2023. He was turned over to Miami-Dade jail for the pending felony charges and bonded out in March 2023.
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