POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A traffic stop on Interstate 4 Tuesday morning led to the arrest of a Minneola woman after deputies discovered she was behind the wheel of a stolen luxury SUV with a scrubbed identity.
Around 11 a.m. on March 10, a Polk County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over a white BMW SUV heading west near Polk City. The stop was initially prompted by a fraudulent registration tag on the vehicle.
The driver, identified as 33-year-old Ililliana Torres Martinez, told investigators a story that immediately raised red flags. According to authorities, Martinez claimed she bought the high-end SUV for $10,000, even though the vehicle’s actual market value is estimated at $45,000.
When questioned about the transaction, Martinez reportedly told the deputy she could not remember who sold her the car or exactly where the sale took place.
A closer inspection of the BMW revealed significant tampering. The VIN plate, usually found on the driver’s side door, had been completely removed, while the plate on the dashboard had been swapped out for an altered version.
A detective eventually tracked down the vehicle’s original identification number, confirming the SUV had been reported stolen out of Aventura, near Miami.
The investigation also turned up several personal documentation issues for the driver. Martinez was operating the vehicle with a suspended license and had failed to update her home address with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles since moving from Ocala to Minneola over a year ago.
Martinez was taken into custody and transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center.
She now faces a string of charges, including second-degree felony dealing in stolen property, possession of a vehicle without an ID number, and possession of a motor vehicle with an altered VIN. She was also cited for driving with a suspended license and failing to notify the state of her change of address.
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