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Man found riding in slain Melbourne woman's car only charged with grand theft

MELBOURNE, Fla. — A man who was arrested after police caught him driving in a slain Melbourne woman’s vehicle is only facing grand theft charges.

Detectives with the Melbourne Police Department questioned three men who were caught driving in Leah Yoresh’s car Thursday night, but only one of those men, Matthew Sharp, was arrested.

Yoresh, 35, was found dead inside her home on Albert Lane one week ago. Detectives still have not released how she died.

Authorities said Yoresh's 2012 Hyundai Accent was found by an alert detective at a gas station on Eau Gallie Boulevard near I-95, with the three men inside.

"No one else should have been in possession of that vehicle," said Lt. Byron Barnes of the Melbourne Police Department. "These individuals will be questioned as to their relationship to the car and possible involvement with the former homicide."

Investigators said there wasn’t enough evidence to hold two of the men, but Sharp was arrested on a grand theft charge.

On Friday, prosecutors asked a judge to keep Sharp behind bars with no bond, but that didn't happen.

Melbourne police said Sharp was a passenger in the vehicle, and he does not face any charges related to Yoresh's death nor has he been called a suspect.

“Naturally, finding three people in the victim's car raised some suspicion  and there are still  things being looked at, and the detectives did gain some more information from the interviews,” said Sgt. Sheridan Shelley.

“We need to know where he's at,” said assistant state attorney Gary Beatty. “At the very least, he certainly is apparently a material witness in a homicide at the very least if not a potential suspect."

But the judge ordered a $10,000 bond and a GPS tracking device instead.

WFTV has learned Sharp was released from state prison in September on burglary and fraud charges.