A Florida man who ran out of cash while drinking at a bar had to be rescued from a chimney after he tried breaking into a nearby home, authorities said.
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to free 25-year-old Richard Tyler Brandon after he became stuck in the 18-foot chimney of the home in the 500 block of Neapolitan Way in Naples Wednesday, according to WBBH.
Brandon was charged with burglary of a dwelling causing damage over $1,000 and unarmed burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, jail records showed. He was being held without bond Thursday and it was unknown whether he has an attorney.
Authorities said Brandon (below left) and 26-year-old Derek Alan Grenfell had been drinking at Pelican Larry's bar when they can out of cash. After Brandon became stuck in the chimney, Grenfell approached deputies at a nearby 7-Eleven and told them about the incident.
Firefighters responded and found Brandon shoeless, with one foot dangling into the fireplace of the home. He was pulled to safety with the help of a harness attached to a ladder truck.
The chimney was damaged in the incident, which homeowner Mike Whitley called a "reverse kind of Santa."
"I think this Santa was trying to remove things rather than bringing presents in," said Whitley, who caught a flight to Florida shortly after the alarm company and police told him about the incident.
Grenfell, who told police he watched Brandon burglarize another nearby home, was charged with accessory after the fact in the incident, according to WBBH.
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