A Villager was arrested when he went to visit his mother at a local rehabilitation center.
Rudy Van Der Putten, 74, who lives on the Historic Side of The Villages, was driving a white Ford F-150 pickup at about 10 a.m. Wednesday on County Road 466 at Chula Vista Avenue when an officer noticed the truck’s license plate had a decal that expired in 2017, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. A check of the license plate number showed that the tag had been assigned to an Oldsmobile and had been expired for more than seven years.
A traffic stop was initiated in the parking lot of The Villages Rehab on County Road 466. Van Der Putten said he was going to the rehabilitation center to visit his mother, who was a patient. He provided a Florida identification card and admitted his driver’s license was suspended. He also volunteered that his truck was uninsured. A check revealed he was previously convicted of driving while license suspended. He was arrested last year while driving in the wee hours near Spanish Plaines Shopping Center.
The New Hampshire native said he found the old license plate in his laundry room and put it on his truck so he could drive to visit his mother…