Florida man tries to hide in sewer to avoid arrest as drone catches him peeking out
A Florida man tried hiding in an unusual spot last week to avoid arrest, only to be quickly discovered by a law enforcement drone, video shows.
The said deputies were sent to the Town Center Mall in Brandon, located east of Tampa, just after 5:20 p.m. on July 4, to check out a report of an alleged retail theft. They were told by mall security that the suspect had likely run into a nearby wooded area.
Scanning the area using a drone, deputies quickly located the suspect, identified as 55-year-old Ricardo Claudio Diaz, "emerging from a sewer grate, believing deputies were no longer nearby," according to the sheriff's office.
The drone video, which was posted on the sheriff's office Facebook page, showed Diaz peeking out of the sewer and scanning his surroundings, not realizing law enforcement had eyes in the sky. Moments later, deputies arrived and pulled him out.
Diaz was arrested and is now facing charges of "wearing a hood or mask on the property of another, felony petit theft, and resisting an officer without violence," according to the sheriff's office.
