A very unwelcome guest was caught in the ceiling of a Corpus Christi gym this week.
Police arrested 44-year-old Thomas Garcia after he was found to be living in Freedom Fitness on the 5800 block of South Padre Island Drive, KRIS reported.
Gym employees called the cops around 2:30 a.m. on Monday, April 19, because they thought someone broke into the building and was moving around in the ceiling. Authorities believe Garcia kicked open an air duct and crawled across the rafters above the women's restroom.
Cops used a ladder to climb into the ceiling and found Garcia hiding in a space above the women's locker room. Garcia then told police that he was homeless and had no place to go.
Garcia climbed out of the ceiling and was taken into police custody. He's being charged with burglary of a building, criminal mischief, and voyeurism, and is being held on a $13,000 bond.
Authorities also confiscated his cell phone as evidence since it may contain photos and videos of women undressing in the locker room, according to a police report.
The police and the gym did not say how long Garcia was living in the ceiling.
Garcia has a long history with the legal system. He's been on the Texas sex offender list since 1999 after he was convicted of burglary with intent to commit sexual assault. Since then he's been convicted of several criminal trespassing charges, retaliation, and resisting arrest, KRIS reported.
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