A wanted Florida man was taken into custody Saturday after police were alerted by cellphone that he was hiding in a store’s attic, authorities said.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year-old Joshua Garrett was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and felony criminal damage to property.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a disturbance near US 98 North and Duff Road in Lakeland, Florida. When deputies arrived on scene, they were told the man causing the disturbance, later identified as Garrett, had left the store.
After officers identified the man as Garrett, they learned he was wanted for theft, providing false information to a pawnbroker and violating probation given after being convicted of trafficking in stolen property.
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Joshua Garrett was reportedly hiding from a Florida sheriff when his cell phone rang, alerting police to his location. (Polk County Jail)
Officers searched for Garrett in the area and stopped at the business where he worked.
When officers arrived on scene, they found Garrett had entered the store but never left.
Officers initially searched the premises but were unable to find the culprit.
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Still, officers thought Garrett might be in the building and saw several ceiling tiles were out of place, then they heard Garrett’s phone ring and began searching above the tiles.
As investigators searched, they found a hand protruding from underneath the insulation.
“Thankfully, the hand was attached to Mr. Garrett’s body and not just a severed hand,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post, “otherwise this situation could have gone in a completely different direction.”
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Garrett was eventually removed from the ceiling and transported to the Polk County Jail on an arrest warrant, where he was also charged with resisting and felony criminal damage to property for allegedly causing approximately $1,000 worth of damage to his employer’s ceiling.
