Home burglaries happen a lot more often than most Americans realize.
FBI data shows a break-in occurs every 26 seconds in the United States.
And a burglar wearing his birthday suit gave one Florida man the surprise of his life.
Police work is a serious and dangerous profession.
According to the FBI and Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 16,000 police officers are injured on the job each year due to assaults.
In 2020, more than 60,000 officers were assaulted, with around 30% sustaining injuries.
And 40,000 officers were assaulted with weapons in 2020.
Unfortunately, police are killed in the line of duty, with over 100 officers dying in 2022.
But even though police work is a dangerous profession, there is no shortage of hilarious moments for officers on the job.
This is especially true for the police in Florida.
From a man trying to evade capture by dressing as a woman to a criminal hiding in a small dryer, each year, a handful of criminals stand out in Florida for their horrible lack of judgment.
And one criminal in Putnam County, Florida, just left a Florida man the surprise of his life while wearing nothing but his birthday suit.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, a man came home on Sunday evening and discovered a naked burglar inside his home.
“A man comes home to find a naked man inside the residence Sunday evening … sounds like the beginning of a joke, but unfortunately for the victim, it was no laughing matter,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) wrote on Facebook.
The man called the police.
When deputies arrived at the home, the burglar, 24-year-old Keeton Mercier, followed the police’s order to put on some underwear.
However, he refused to leave the man’s home.
Deputies were left with no choice but to enter the home and forcefully remove the burglar.
But this was not the man’s first run-in with the law.
He also had a warrant for aggravated battery by strangulation from a case in January.
“Deputies entered the residence and arrested Mercier for not only burglary, but also on a warrant for aggravated battery by strangulation from a case in January,” PCSO wrote.
Police took Mercier to the hospital due to cuts he sustained on his arms and legs when he broke into the home.
“Mercier was taken to the hospital to be treated for cuts on his arms and legs he sustained breaking into the home as well as due to his erratic behavior from possibly using drugs,” PCSO wrote.
On the kitchen counter, the police found “pools of blood” near a broken window as well as drug paraphernalia.
“They also found several glass pipes typically used with narcotics,” PCSO wrote.
Mercier was previously convicted of battery in 2022.
Police arrested him and locked him up without bond.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
