DADE CITY, Fla. — On YouTube, you can see video of Bruce Wilson racing his custom built truck — customizing trucks is also his business. He’s the owner of After Hours Diesel in Dade City.
It’s where he tells ABC Action News, Dade City Police officer Jonathan Hobby would often stop by.
He says they became friends and then Hobby came asking for help that would get them both arrested.
Investigators say Hobby reported a 2015 Dodge Ram truck stolen in Polk County. He eventually got an insurance check for about $25,000.
About 5 months after the reported theft, Dade City police fond the dismantled truck at the garage.
Police arrested Hobby, Wilson, and one of Wilson’s mechanics on several charges related to insurance fraud.
Wilson tells me the police officer claimed he had cancer and wasn’t getting help from the VA. He was sympathetic and helped with Hobby’s plan to get rid of the truck.
Wilson says his business is not a chop shop and he’s never been arrested for anything before. He just wanted to help a friend and now he ended up in jail.
The plan fell apart in many ways.
According to the arrest documents, Wilson accidentally ran into part of the truck with a forklift, damaging it before it could be sold.
All three men are out on bond.
