Wanted Man Arrested After Police Find Him Napping in Stranger's Attic

A wanted man with a felony warrant was found curled up asleep in a stranger's attic in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and when officers ordered him down through the ceiling opening, he offered a straightforward explanation: he had been taking a nap. "That's a weird place to take a nap," one officer replied on bodycam footage released by the Wheat Ridge Police Department.

The arrest, which drew wide attention after the department released body camera video in late March, began with routine patrol work on March 13. An officer conducting proactive patrols near West 44th Avenue and Dover Street spotted a vehicle whose registered owner had an outstanding felony warrant. Before the officer could make contact, a man matching the owner's description climbed out and walked into a nearby home. A photo comparison confirmed he was the warrant subject.

Rather than force entry, officers approached the homeowners directly. The residents gave permission to search the property, allowing police to proceed without a warrant or confrontation. Wheat Ridge officers then called in a partnering agency: the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, which dispatched a drone pilot to the scene. The drone swept the residence and located the suspect inside the attic within minutes.

Bodycam footage captures officers confronting the man as he lowered himself through a hole in the ceiling, dropping into what appears to be a garage below. He told officers he was napping. They arrested him on the spot under the outstanding felony warrant. The department has not released the suspect's name, the nature of the underlying felony warrant, or whether trespassing or burglary charges would follow.

The case is a practical demonstration of how drone technology has changed fugitive operations. By deploying a drone before sending officers room to room, Wheat Ridge police located the suspect quickly and without exposing residents or officers to unnecessary risk during a search of an occupied home. The Jefferson County Sheriff's drone found the man before a single door was opened.

Whether the homeowners had any prior relationship with the man was not addressed in information released by the department. The felony warrant case remains active pending prosecution.