September 24, 2020
Deputies and Detectives responded to the 6400 block of SE County Road 326 in Gulf Hammock in response to Deputy James Yanok’s call for assistance shortly before midnight on September 22, 2020. Detectives located and arrested Bonnie Gray (7/28/89) of Otter Creek and her associate Tina Marie Romano (8/29/90) of Winter Garden at the conclusion of this investigation.
Romano was arrested near the crime scene approximately 7 hours after the first call for assistance was announced by Deputy Yanok. LCSO Deputies and DOC K-9 Officers tracked Romano through the swampy wooded area for hours, sighting her several times before she was ultimately chased down and arrested.
Deputies supported by the FWC, Marion County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit and the Department of Corrections K-9 combed the wooded area of Goethe Forest for approximately 12 hours before locating and arresting Gray near Wolf Arbor Road in Goethe Forest. Gray was able to slip handcuffs and squeeze into the front seat of Deputy Yanok’s patrol vehicle and flee the area in his car. She lost control and crashed the stolen patrol vehicle a short distance from the crime scene and fled on foot. In the process of her escape, she struck Deputy Yanok twice as he was attempting to stop her.
Gray and Romano were transported to the Levy County Detention Facility and booked in. Gray has been charged with multiple charges to include escape, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence. Her bond has been set at $1,080,000.00. Romano was charged with resisting arrest without violence and her bond has been set at $50,000.00.