Real-life Goldilocks: Florida man ‘broke into a stranger’s home’ to make dinner and have a bath because he was avoiding his angry wife
A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a stranger’s house and staying for days to avoid his “angry” wife.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office was called on June 9 about reports of lights unexpectedly being on inside a rental property in Davenport.
When deputies arrived, around 10pm, the officers found Jocelyn Charles inside, with the 44-year-old allegedly admitting to breaking into the property days ago.
“Deputies went to the residence and found Joe inside, cooking, and he had just finished filling the tub for a bath,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a bizarre June 15 Facebook post announcing the arrest, replete with Goldilocks jokes and bear puns, as well as the hashtag #IfJoeIsConvictedHeWillSpendTimeBehindTheGuiltyLocksAndTheThreeBars, and an image of a man being arrested who appears unrelated to the actual suspect.
“We assume the bath temperature was not too hot, nor too cold, but juuuuust right,” the post added.
Police said that upon entering the residence, they saw the stove was in use, lights were on, and a cellphone was also plugged into a wall outlet, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Independent.
“Jocelyn advised he had been inside of this residence for approximately four days utilizing water and electricity without the authorization of the home owner,” the affidavit reads.
The sheriff’s office, in the Facebook post, provided additional information about the unusual circumstances of the alleged break-in.
“Joe told deputies that he had gotten in a fight with his wife, and he didn’t want to go home, so he chose to burgle someone else’s home instead,” the sheriff’s department added. “It’s one of those things where you just have to grin and bear it.”
The 44-year-old has been charged with unarmed burglary and petit theft.
He has no prior theft arrests, according to the affidavit.
Charles remains in custody and has a $10,000 bond on the burglary charge and a $250 bond on the petit theft charge, police told The Independent.
A 2022 ACLU report identified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as having a record of civil rights violations and racial profiling, leaders making anti-immigration statements, and inhumane conditions in jail.
