Category: Florida crime
Florida man wearing bra, fake breasts, G-string gets busted — but what cops found moments later raised more alarms: Police
A Florida man wearing a lace bra, a G-string thong, and fake breasts was caught trespassing at a construction site, according to police. However, authorities said the bizarre situation escalated when a deputy discovered something alarming under his prosthetic silicone breasts.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd began his Monday morning briefing by stating: “Now occasionally I bring you stuff that you just can’t believe, that you’ll never get over, that may even scar you for life.”
‘Can you imagine? He’s mad at us for trying to find out why he’s wearing lace bras with guns and G-strings or G-somethings.’
According to the affidavit provided to Blaze News by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy encountered 39-year-old Matthew Zaccarino of Altamonte Springs at a construction zone around 1:19 a.m. Dec. 14.
The affidavit states Zaccarino’s vehicle was parked on private property with signs posted that read: “No Trespassing.”
A deputy made contact with Zaccarino, “who was standing next to the vehicle’s open passenger-side door and putting on female clothing (bra and panties),” the affidavit said.
Judd added, “We see this dude wearing a red lace bra, with prosthetic silicone breasts. Then we noticed he’s wearing a G-string — showing off the boys. You know what I mean?”
Judd said the deputy believed the situation was “highly unusual.”
Zaccarino told the deputy he was on his way to a “costume party,” according to Judd.
However, when the deputy pressed him about the costume party, Zaccarino couldn’t answer the question, Judd said.
The affidavit states that Zaccarino was “unable to provide a location, direction, or identify individuals who would be present” at the supposed party.
The affidavit also states the deputy issued several lawful commands for the suspect to stop moving, but he “refused to comply, removed his bra and silicone breast prosthesis, and began reaching inside the vehicle.”
At that time, the officer handcuffed the suspect.
Sheriff Judd stressed that these kinds of strange encounters can be extremely dangerous for officers.
According to the affidavit, the deputy was looking down at the bra and breast prosthesis and noticed a “loaded H&K 9mm firearm under the items” on the passenger-side floorboard near where Zaccarino was standing.
“Such loitering and prowling occurred under circumstances that warranted justifiable and reasonable alarm for the safety of people or property in the vicinity,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit.
Zaccarino then clammed up and refused to talk to law enforcement, according to Judd.
“Can you imagine? He’s mad at us for trying to find out why he’s wearing lace bras with guns and G-strings or G-somethings,” Judd stated.
“Oooh, it was ugly. It was so ugly,” Judd remarked.
Zaccarino was arrested and charged with armed trespass, resisting without violence, and loitering and prowling.
According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office jail records, Zaccarino was released on a $6,250 bond.
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5 craziest ‘Florida man’ crime stories of 2025 that sound fake — but aren’t
The notorious “Florida man” didn’t just live up to his reputation in 2025 — he shattered it.
The Sunshine State became a rolling highlight reel of off-the-rails antics, including a meth-fueled birthday joyride on a stolen train and a crazy police bodycam video capturing the arrest of a costumed suspect as stunned families watched in disbelief at a Chuck E. Cheese.
‘Would y’all put Mickey Mouse in handcuffs?’
So we hereby present the top five wildest incidents of the year involving the infamous “Florida man.”
1. Key West chaos: Man with meth pipe hijacks tourist train on birthday, police say
As Blaze News reported in July, a 57-year-old Florida man allegedly celebrated his birthday with a meth-fueled joyride by hijacking a tourist train in Key West.
Citing the arrest report, WPLG-TV said Jonathan Patrick Winslow stole the Conch Tour Train and even managed to pick up “two random passengers” while driving the trolley.
When confronted by cops, Winslow had a meth pipe in his possession — and he told deputies that it was a “weed pipe,” according to the police report.
Police said Winslow told officers he previously worked at the Conch Tour Train Depot, that he merely “borrowed” the train — and that “today is his birthday.”
Despite it being his birthday, Winslow was arrested and hit with burglary, grand theft auto, and drug charges.
2. Kids watch in shock as man in a mouse costume is arrested at Chuck E. Cheese
What was supposed to be a fun, innocent time for children devolved into a bizarre arrest caught on police bodycam footage that captured officers arresting a Chuck E. Cheese mascot — with kids and parents watching.
Blaze News reported in September that 41-year-old Jermel Jones was accused of allegedly purchasing items with someone else’s credit card.
“We’re gonna detain the mouse,” a police officer is heard telling a fellow cop on bodycam footage as they enter the pizza restaurant in Tallahassee.
An officer about to confront the man in the mouse costume is heard telling a woman, “Chuck E.’s a little bit busy, ma’am.”
A police officer orders the man in the costume, “Chuck E., come with me. Chuck E! Chuck E! Stop resisting! You’re being detained! Stop resisting! Let it go! Do not cause a scene here, sir.”
The Chuck E. Cheese mascot is handcuffed and then escorted out of the children’s restaurant as parents and kids watch in stunned disbelief.
A woman is heard yelling at the officers, “I would like y’all to walk him out the door instead of traumatizing all these children seeing someone like Chuck E. Cheese get arrested.”
She then asks, “Would y’all put Mickey Mouse in handcuffs?”
Jones was arrested and charged with theft of a credit card, criminal use of personal identification information, and fraudulent use of a credit card totaling over $100.
3. Florida man offers cops alcoholic drink during car chase — then gets tased
Only in Florida does a police pursuit include a suspect casually offering officers an alcoholic drink mid-chase.
In April, police were called to a local market after a report of a theft of alcoholic beverages, according to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.
Blaze News reported that 39-year-old Richard Christopher Smith of Miami was driving a black minivan in circles near the market, after which a miles-long police chase ensued.
The sheriff’s office said Smith was holding a can of Ketel One vodka spritz out the window of the minivan as he drove by a deputy attempting to pull him over. Smith is heard in the bodycam video telling the officer, “I was just going to give you a drink, that’s it.”
The sheriff’s office said in a statement, “We don’t know if he was expecting us to just say ‘Cheers!’ and let him go, or what.”
Officials added, “After his toast, Smith attempted to ram two patrol vehicles in the midst of getting all four tires flattened by spike strips.”
The minivan slowed down, and the crazy police pursuit ended several miles away in the parking lot of a business at the Sebring Airport. Bodycam video shows Smith exiting the minivan and being greeted by cops with their guns drawn and ordering the suspect to get on the ground.
However, the suspect is seen not obeying orders and walking toward a deputy — and Smith gets tased and falls headfirst on the pavement.
According to the bodycam video, Smith asks officers why he’s being arrested, to which the deputy replies, “A lot of stupid s**t, right now.”
Smith is heard saying to the officers in the bodycam footage, “You guys had fun, though, right?”
Jail records show that Smith was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a DUI test, and petty theft.
4. Here’s how an alligator sent Florida folks flying
Florida motorcyclists were sent flying over their handlebars after slamming into a large alligator on a highway.
Blaze News reported in June that two motorcyclists collided with a six-foot alligator on Interstate 4 in Orange City. The impact of hitting the alligator crossing the highway sent both riders soaring into the air.
Motorcyclist Cameron Gilmore told WESH-TV, “I saw it, like, 10 feet in front of me, and I just, you know, I thought — I knew I was going to hit it. It kind of just happened so quick.”
Gilmore added, “I didn’t even have a second to do anything. Couldn’t put on the brakes or not. And I just had to hold on.”
Gilmore said the collision caused him to “start flying for a long way.”
The two bikers were rushed to the HCA Lake Monroe Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
5. Sex offender gets rejected at job interview — reacts by flinging bottles of urine
A Florida man reportedly turned a denied job interview into a criminal spectacle and threw bottles of urine at a store.
As Blaze News reported in April, 51-year-old John Connaughton asked for a job interview at a door store in St. Petersburg.
Connaughton was rejected, after which he lashed out by hurling multiple bottles filled with urine at the front of the store, according to an arrest affidavit. Urine splattered on building materials and splashed at least one employee, court documents say.
The affidavit accused Connaughton of causing more than $1,000 in damage “to various building materials” by “splattering [them] with urine.”
Image source: Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement
Connaughton reportedly fled, but two men chased after him. Connaughton — a registered sex offender — raised his skateboard over his head as if he were going to hit one of the men with it, according to the arrest affidavit.
The St. Petersburg Police Department arrested Connaughton, and he was charged with felony battery, criminal mischief, and two counts of aggravated assault, according to court records.
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Kids were ‘playing’ at a luxury resort pool. It all ended with Florida woman arrested, charged with aggravated child abuse.
A Florida woman found herself in handcuffs in what was supposed to be a fun family vacation at a luxury resort after she became physical with a 6-year-old boy at a pool, according to police.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies responded to a report of a battery involving a child around 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Gaylord Palms Hotel — a four-star resort in Kissimmee.
“Witnesses reported that three children were playing in the pool when the splashing became aggressive,” the statement reads.
Police said 36-year-old Tiffany Lee Griffith of Fort Myers “entered the pool and yelled at a 6-year-old boy after he allegedly dunked her 6-year-old son underwater.”
The sheriff’s office claimed Griffith “placed her hands on the victim’s shoulders and forcibly dunked him underwater for several seconds.”
The alleged victim rushed out of the resort pool “visibly upset and suffering from a nosebleed.” The child reported the alleged incident to his parents, according to police.
Griffith then began yelling at the mother of the alleged victim before leaving the area, police said. Deputies located and arrested Griffith.
RELATED: Florida woman couldn’t take her dog on flight — so she drowned animal in airport bathroom: Police
The Osceola News-Gazette obtained the police report which stated, “After Tiffany was placed under arrest, she made spontaneous statements expressing remorse for what had occurred.”
The police report added, “It should also be noted that alcohol was believed to be a possible factor in this incident, according to hotel security.”
During her arrest, Griffith allegedly “understood and agreed to her [Miranda] rights. … She further stated she could recite them due to being a former law enforcement officer.”
Griffith was taken to the Osceola County Jail, and she was charged with aggravated child abuse.
According to the affidavit obtained by People magazine, Griffith told investigators she entered the pool to protect her child; she claimed he’s nonverbal and has autism.
“I was protecting my son,” Griffith told deputies, according to the affidavit.
Griffith told police she feared her son would be “drowned” by the other child, the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, investigators said they reviewed security footage at the resort, and it matched a witness’ account of the incident.
During Griffith’s first court appearance Monday, a judge found probable cause and ordered her held without bond, according to WINK-TV. The judge also ordered Griffith to have no contact with the child or the child’s family.
The Gaylord Palms Hotel did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
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WATCH: Florida man says he ‘teleported’ into stolen BMW, blames ‘X-Men,’ thanks cop for rescuing him from ‘aliens’
A Florida man was arrested after getting into a car crash with a vehicle that was reported stolen earlier this month. However, the case took a strange twist when the suspect said he was “teleported” into the stolen BMW by the “X-Men” — but he was now safe from the “aliens,” according to police bodycam video.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that a car owner informed police that his BMW convertible had been stolen while he was walking his dog at Bicentennial Park in Ormond Beach.
‘You saved me from the aliens!’
The man admitted to law enforcement that he had left his BMW unlocked and that the car keys were in a “closed cup holder.”
Police bodycam video — recorded Dec. 8 — shows a witness telling a deputy that a man in his 30s with blond shoulder-length hair was in a BMW at the park.
“He kept asking for a light,” the witness told the deputy. “I thought, ‘How does he have a BMW if he doesn’t even have a lighter for a cigarette?'”
A few minutes later, the BMW crashed at Old Dixie Highway and Plantation Oaks Boulevard, the sheriff’s office stated.
Bodycam footage shows the car crash site, with one witness claiming that the BMW was traveling at 130 miles per hour. The wrecked BMW is seen half off the road with the front of the vehicle severely mangled after it seemingly crashed into the trees near the highway in a one-car accident.
A deputy confronted the alleged driver of the stolen BMW — 36-year-old Calvin Curtis Johnson.
Johnson — who is seen with blood on his face — is heard telling the deputy, “I don’t know how I got in the car. I teleported or something.”
When the deputy asks where he got the car from, Johnson shrugs and responds, “I don’t know,” and once again suggests that he “teleported” into the vehicle.
The suspect then appears to blame the situation on the “X-Men.”
According to the bodycam video, the deputy asks the suspect if he had just been to Bicentennial Park, to which Johnson replies, “They told me — the X-Men — to do it.”
A distraught Johnson is heard on video stammering, “I don’t do that stuff. Someone told me to get in there. Someone’s in my head. Thank you for saving me. I don’t know how I got in there.”
Then an excited Johnson exuberantly proclaimed to the deputy, “You saved me from the aliens!”
The police bodycam footage also shows the officer dousing flames from a small fire from the car crash.
Johnson was arrested, taken to the Halifax Health Medical Center for treatment, and booked into the Volusia County Jail. Johnson was hit with charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and driving with a canceled, suspended, or revoked license, according to jail records.
According to Volusia County jail records, Johnson has a lengthy rap sheet with arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer without violence, loitering or prowling, uttering a forged check, trespassing, several charges for failing to appear in court, and operating a vehicle while a driver’s license was suspended, canceled, or revoked.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that Johnson is homeless.
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Florida man armed to the teeth issues ‘dirty bomb’ warning after he crashes car, triggering lockdown
Police responded to a car crash at a grocery store late last week only to encounter a Florida man armed to the teeth, who warned he had a “dirty bomb,” according to authorities. The alarming dirty bomb remark triggered a lockdown of the area, police said.
Late Friday night, officers with the Haines City Police Department responded to reports of a vehicle crash at a Publix grocery store in Davenport.
‘Officers located a yellow plastic container secured with chains and locks with a radioactive warning label and immediately repositioned to a safe distance, shut down roadways, and requested assistance from the Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives.’
Police said officers made contact with 43-year-old Benjamin Donald Johnson — a driver allegedly involved in the car accident.
Police said in a statement, “Officers were ultimately required to physically remove Johnson from the truck, at which point multiple firearms were observed in plain view.”
Police said while the suspect was being detained in the back of a patrol vehicle, an officer heard Johnson saying that there was a “dirty bomb” in his Chevrolet Silverado truck.
Police stated, “Officers located a yellow plastic container secured with chains and locks with a radioactive warning label and immediately repositioned to a safe distance, shut down roadways, and requested assistance from the Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives.”
Police imposed a lockdown of the area near the vehicle in question for several hours “out of an abundance of caution” and to “ensure the safety” of anyone nearby.
Before the bomb squad arrived, a Florida State Fire Investigator at the crime scene confirmed the container was “emitting positive radioactivity,” according to police.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and an FBI bomb technician launched an investigation into the possible dirty bomb.
According to police, investigators said a device was inside the yellow container. The investigators allegedly determined it was a moisture density gauge, which is “commonly used for soil testing, and contained less radioactivity than a medical X-ray.”
The statement said the container was transported to the Haines City Police Department, where it will be “further inspected” by members of the Florida Bureau of Radioactive Material.
Officers conducted a search of Johnson’s truck, and police said they found a “multitude of firearms and ammunition, firearm magazine speed loaders, thermal scopes, knives, a battering ram, night vision goggles, cannabis, and gummies, which tested positive for THC.”
Johnson told investigators he was in the area for work and had been living out of his pickup truck with his dog, police said.
The dog was transferred to a local animal control service.
Jail records from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office show that Johnson was arrested and charged with hoax weapon of mass destruction, false report concerning a bomb or explosive, resisting an officer without violence, unlawful possession of cannabis resin, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and use of a firearm under the influence of alcohol.
Police noted that Johnson’s prior criminal history revealed he had been arrested for possession of marijuana in Tennessee.
Police said the case remains under investigation.
The Haines City Police Department and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
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