Wanted Florida man caught after phone rings while hiding in ceiling: deputies

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A wanted Florida man was taken into custody on Saturday after his phone tipped off deputies that he was hiding from them in the ceiling of a business, authorities said.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year-old Joshua Garrett was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and felony criminal mischief.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a disturbance near US 98 North and Duff Road in Lakeland, Florida. When the deputies arrived, they were told the man causing the disturbance, later identified as Garrett, had left the business.

After identifying the man as Garrett, deputies learned he was wanted for violating his probation, which he was given after being convicted of burglary, providing false information to a pawn broker and trafficking of stolen property.

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Joshua Garrett was allegedly hiding from Florida deputies when his phone went rang, tipping them off to his location. (Polk County Jail)

Deputies began searching for Garrett in the area and stopped by a business where he was employed.

When they arrived, deputies confirmed Garrett walked into the business but never left.

The deputies did an initial search of the property but could not find him.

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Still, they believed Garrett could be in the building and saw a few ceiling tiles were out of place. The deputies then heard Garrett’s phone ringing and started searching above the tiles.

As they searched, investigators spotted a hand sticking out from under the insulation.

“Thankfully, the hand was attached to a body – Garrett’s – and not just some random disembodied hand,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook. “That would have taken this situation into a whole other direction.”

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Garrett was ultimately removed from the ceiling and transported to the Polk County jail for his warrant. He was also charged with resisting and felony criminal mischief after causing about $1,000 worth of damage to his employer’s ceiling.