LEE COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida man was taken into custody last week after he was spotted in in someone’s backyard wearing underwear around his neck, according to the Cape Coral Police Department.
In a release, police said they received a call on Thursday about a “prowler” in the 2000 block of Everest Parkway just before 10 p.m.
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The caller explained that someone was seen in their backyard near the dock, wearing a gray hoodie, black shorts and a dark mask on his face, the release shows.
Upon arrival, officers found the man — identified as Troy Stuart, 35 — in an empty lot along Everest Parkway, police said.
Stuart was discovered lying on his stomach “between a tall hedge and thick brush near the seawall,” the release reads.
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Similarly to the caller’s description, police said Stuart was wearing a gray hoodie, black shorts and a dark blue pair of underwear around his neck.
Stuart told police that he was running along the canal for exercise due to its aesthetics and to avoid cars on the road, and the underwear was intended to protect his face from the cold, police explained.
However, Stuart added that he had been confronted by two other men, so he ran away to hid, according to the release.
Police said they spoke with the two men who confronted Stuart, both of whom live along Everest Parkway.
“One told officers he saw a man in a gray hoodie and black shorts walk through his backyard, and said he shouted and approached him,” the release states. “He was able to remove his hood to see who he was. He said his neighbor then escorted him to their front yard, and he ran away.”
Another neighbor told officers that they had reported two of their bonsai plants — valued at around $7,000 — as stolen earlier in the month, police said.
Investigators added that the suspect in that theft was seen on surveillance video on Jan. 11 walking toward additional bonsai plants at the same address before fleeing from the area “as if he was spooked.”
Afterward, officers went to Stuart’s home and found several bonsai plants, though they didn’t match the exact description of the stolen plants, police said.
“A tall fence kept officers from seeing into the backyard,” the release reads. “Stuart claimed to have no knowledge of the tree theft.”
Stuart faces a charge of loitering, and he was released on a bond of $150 on Friday. His court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30 at 8 a.m.
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