While no one should steal a truck, I can feel for this Florida man. He fell directly into a SWAT team’s arms, and that had to hurt his pride. But barricading himself in an attic wasn’t the smartest decision either. 

Florida truck thief falls through floor, into SWAT team’s arms 

Police officers in Indian River County responded immediately to reports of a stolen truck. The Ford F-350 was snatched from Osceola County. Then it was spotted heading west by Louisiana Avenue on CR 512 while hauling lumber. 

Investigators with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 37-year-old Keith Rodgers. He was spotted with the truck purchasing lumber from a Home Depot in Sebastian. 

Then deputies spotted the truck in a driveway on Melrose Lane. Rodgers was unloading the wood, then ran home in an attempt to evade law enforcement. He refused to comply with verbal commands to stop. 

According to CBS 12, Rogers has a criminal history and has shared that he would get into a shootout before going back to jail. That’s why SWAT and crisis negotiators were deployed to the scene. 

Officers waited as Rodgers spent hours barricaded in his attic, trying to hide. But then he fell through the ceiling, right into the SWAT team’s arms. This made it easier to take him into custody. 

He has been charged with multiple felony counts of grand theft auto and resisting an officer without violence. However, perhaps the best way for him to avoid jail is to stop stealing trucks and committing other crimes.