By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com
NAPLES, Fla. — A drunken man is accused of sneaking into a police station, then taking a shower, stealing clothing and gear, and also flooding a portion of the building.
Amazingly, the man managed to elude capture while at the station, police say, but he did make a critical error ... he left his wallet behind.
That, of course, helped officers track down the suspect, Joseph Moulton, 36, who now is facing multiple charges in connection with the break-in, NBC 2 reports.
Fox 4 reports the break-in occurred on April 8. Moulton is accused of jumping a fence outside the station and then sitting in an unlocked patrol car. After seeing some people leaving the station, Moulton reportedly hid in some bushes before managing to get inside the building.
Once inside, Moulton went to the men’s locker room and took a shower. He then stole some clothing from an officer’s duffle bag, Fox 4 reports, as well as a bulletproof vest. At some point, Moulton took a hose and stuck it under the door into the building, then turned on the water, NBC 2 reports.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the limit to the damage. Police say Moulton threw a police radio into a toilet and defecated on the floor of the women’s bathroom.
WFLA reports police didn’t discover what Moulton had done until after he had left the station. Using video surveillance, officers discovered Moulton had been in a beach patrol vehicle, where they found his wallet, Fox 4 reports.
Police later found Moulton’s car in a parking lot, where he was arrested without incident when he was found hiding in some bushes, reports say. Moulton reportedly admitted to being drunk and says he doesn’t remember breaking into the station, NBC 2 reports. He has been charged with grand theft and two counts of burglary.
©2023 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit cleveland.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.