A suspected thief in Florida thought the coast was clear and deputies had left the area when he emerged from his sewer hiding place only to be spotted by a drone, authorities said.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday shared an aerial video of the moment a retail theft suspect climbed out of a sewer grate in a wooded area near the Brandon Town Center Mall on Friday.
Deputies responded to a report of a retail theft at the mall at around 5:20 p.m. on Friday. Mall security told deputies they believed the suspect had run into nearby woods. The sheriff’s office launched a drone and streamed live video to patrol units on the ground.
The video shows the suspect, later identified as 55-year-old Ricardo Claudio Diaz, climbing out of a sewer grate hidden in a patch of tall grass next to a gravel road and a wooded area. Diaz apparently believed the deputies in the area had moved on in their search, but the drone operator directed deputies to his hiding place.
Diaz was arrested and charged with felony petit theft, wearing a hood or mask on the property of another, and resisting an officer without violence.
