Accused car thief speaks to FOX 35

Robert Hardister is covered in tattoos, but now his inked body is hidden by an orange and white stripped jumpsuit --  his arrest was captured on body camera video by the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

In a jailhouse interview, Hardister, 26, said believes the Sheriff's Office was out of line during his arrest.

"I think it was quite extensive, if not over the top."

Investigators say Hardister fled after they got a tip that he was staying at an Ocala hotel. After he fled, investigators say he was a threat to the community and a K-9 search was necessary.

"It's a lot of hard work for these K-9 handlers, but that training pays off and that hard work pays off when we're able to track somebody in a residential neighborhood before he breaks into somebody else's house, before someone like this - who has a record of stealing cars - steals another car., Paul Bloom, spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office, tells FOX 35.

Hardister says he just finished serving six months and was released three weeks ago. Still, Hardister tells us, what he does isn't a big deal.

"Ya know, he's stealing cars, this that and the third, ya know to me it's just typical everyday life."

Hardister says he got his tattoos to fit in behind bars, and despite them, he says he wants to be a regular 9-to-5 guy. He knows that's hard for some to believe and admits the mentality of the people him is hard to ignore.

"Because honestly doing bad is a lot more fun than the everyday good." Hardister has a $13,000 bond.