The driver of a dump truck stolen from a Palm Coast landscaping company tried to smash through the main gate at Mayport Naval Station Tuesday morning but was stopped cold by a steel barrier activated by U.S. Navy sentries, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

Rodney Simeon, a former Alabama State University basketball player from Miami, is under arrest on a Flagler County warrant for auto theft and burglary as the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigate the incident. His bail was set at $25,000, according to his Jacksonville arrest report.

Although no possible motive was provided, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said a ski mask and a gun were found inside the stolen truck, believed to belong to Simeon. The 24-year-old also was arrested June 3 on charges of destruction of evidence, suspended license, possession of marijuana and no car registration in Orange County, according to court records.

Mayport spokesman Bill Austin said the forced entry attempt occurred about 9:30 a.m. at the main gate on Mayport Road, the driver reportedly ignoring repeated commands to stop at the gate and prompting security personnel to deploy a barrier.

“A civilian male showed up at the main gate with no credentials and accelerated past the sentry,” Austin said. “They deployed the barrier. … He was in a stolen truck.”

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“This guy appeared to be on a mission and wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stand in his way,” Sheriff Rick Staly added. “We still do not know his intent or what caused him to steal a heavy-duty truck and try to force his way onto a naval base.”

The tale began just after 7:30 a.m., when deputies were called to Corey Enterprises Lawn and Landscape Inc. on Hargrove Grade in Palm Coast to investigate the theft of a white Ford F350 dump truck, the sheriff’s office said. Employees said a man just walked through the business, grabbed the truck keys and drove north on U.S. 1, then onto Interstate 95.

After Simeon was arrested, deputies found his black Toyota Corolla at Corey Enterprises without a license plate, then towed it away as evidence, the sheriff’s office said.

Just because the truck was gone didn’t mean no one knew where it was going, the sheriff’s office said. The white Ford had a GPS tracking system. An employee tracked it heading north and alerted deputies, who then notified the St. Johns County and Jacksonville sheriff’s offices, as well as Florida Highway Patrol, as the truck fled. The truck also left its mark as it drove on I-95, causing numerous crashes in St. Johns and Duval counties, Flagler officials said.

The final GPS location showed the truck parked outside Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, as U.S. Navy and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office authorities alerted Flagler County to his arrest after a barricade system was deployed to prevent him from driving onto the base. Taken into custody by Jacksonville officers and military personnel, Simeon was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation before his arrest, Flagler officials said.

The 6-foot-5 guard led the Alabama State Hornets in scoring in his 2016-17 season at 12.2 points per game in 30 games with 25 starts. He tapered off in his senior season, averaging 7.3 points.

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© 2019 The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.)

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