Brooksville Elementary Teacher, Husband, Charged with Grand Theft Auto, Fraud, Counterfeiting

BROOKSVILLE – A Brooksville couple are behind bars this morning, after sources say they were found in possession of several stolen vehicles.

Investigators with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office received information that 49-year-old Amy Joy Patton and her husband Michael Aaron Patton, also 49, had active warrants out of Marion County.

Investigators conducted simultaneous search warrants at Brooksville Elementary and Big Lots on Cortez Blvd (City), where they located a BMW and GMC Denali. Michael was taken into custody at Big Lots and Amy, a teacher at Brooksville Elementary was arrested at the school. There are unconfirmed reports that a third stolen vehicle was recovered but that has not been confirmed.

Both suspects were booked into the Hernando County Jail on charges of Grand Theft Auto, Swindle/Fraud over $50,000, and Counterfeiting Checks. They are both held on a $20,000 bond, but will be held until extradited back to Marion County.

The Hernando County School District provided the following statement to parents of Brooksville Elementary School:

This afternoon, HCSO made an arrest of a BES staff member for a felony warrants for fraud issued out of Marion County.