Police in Florida have arrested a 23-year-old man accused of running naked through a neighbourhood, breaking into several homes, and causing extensive property damage.
The suspect, identified as Joshua Garrison, was recorded on home security cameras moving through backyards in Pinellas Park, near St. Petersburg, during the early hours of 7 October. Footage reportedly showed him touching himself and vandalising property.
One resident, David Dale, told local station WFLA that he was woken by his doorbell and found a naked man standing outside. “He threw a pot of plants through my truck window and tore the lights off the front of my house,” Dale said.
Another neighbour, Thomas Reischmann, reported that Garrison attempted to enter his home through a window before retreating to his backyard, where he continued his lewd behaviour. “He went into my shed, grabbed an axe and came back onto the back porch,” Reischmann said, adding that his back door had been unlocked at the time.
Security footage also showed Garrison taking a bottle of beer and a can of soda from an outdoor refrigerator before climbing over a six-foot fence and fleeing the area.
Residents described the incident as deeply unsettling. One neighbour told reporters that many locals were armed and prepared to defend their homes. “We are all Second Amendment people here in Pinellas Park; we will shoot you. He got lucky we didn’t wake up,” the person said.
Police arrested Garrison on 8 October. He is believed to be homeless and faces multiple charges, including armed residential burglary, two counts of residential burglary, lewd behaviour, criminal mischief, and violation of probation, according to Fox 13 News.