BC-FL--Councilman Car Theft
Panhandle council man removed from office
Eds: APNewsNow.
    
MALONE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida Panhandle town councilman facing auto theft charges has been suspended from office.
    
Gov. Rick Scott issued an order Thursday for the suspension of 64-year-old Fred Lee Jones, a member of the Town Council of Malone.
    
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office reports that Jones sold two vehicles for scrap to a Georgia auto dealer in the past year after showing what appeared to be bills of sale. Jones received $227 for a 1997 Plymouth and $319 for a 1989 Buick. The dealer picked up the cars from the homes of the victims, who both told deputies they didn't sell their cars to Jones.
    
Jones was arrested last month on two counts each of grand theft auto and dealing in stolen property.
    
A message left at a telephone listing for Jones wasn't immediately returned.