DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. – A man who allegedly tried to escape arrest by using a trap door was captured by deputies before he could flee, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man, wanted by Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) for lewd and lascivious battery on a child under 16, was apprehended after trying to escape using the trap door and a makeshift hideout under a home in DeFuniak Springs, said the WCSO.
Travis Hoose, 36, was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Florida Caribbean Regional Task Force, which includes the WCSO, after responding to a house on Dawn Road last week to serve a warrant.
When the task force arrived, members said they observed movement inside the home, and lights were suddenly turned off. The marshals entered and searched the home, reportedly discovering a trap door cut into the floor of one of the bedrooms.
The crawl space led under the mobile home to the back of the house, where Hoose was allegedly seen attempting to flee. He was apprehended without incident.
“This kind of situation is why the job of a law enforcement officer can be so dangerous,” said Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson.
“However creative they may get, the result will still be the same – with the suspect behind bars.”
In addition to warrants for lewd and lascivious battery, Hoose is also wanted for failure to obey LEO commands to stop and several other charges, including obstruction and violation of parole, said the WCSO.
The U.S. Marshals Task Force members on this arrest consisted of Walton, Holmes, and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
