Homeless man made himself at home in Florida stadium suite for two weeks, police say
A homeless man briefly was living in the lap of luxury inside a suite at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, without anyone noticing. While it almost sounds like Hollywood’s next big budget film, it was real life.
Daniel Albert Neja was arrested on Sunday after a cleaning crew discovered he had been living in a luxury suite inside the stadium for two weeks, St. Petersburg police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez told multiple media outlets, including WFLA.
“A cleaning crew went into one of these suites that no one had gone into for some time due to COVID-19 and noticed there were blankets and shaving cream and a razor,” said Fernandez, as reported by WFLA. “Clearly it appeared someone had been living there.”
According to Fernandez, officials don’t know how Neja got onto the property, Fox 13 reported.
Neja also treated himself to a shopping spree — he took clothes from the stadium store and food from concession areas, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“He went into the merchandise store, he went into the food area,” Fernandez said, according to WFLA. “So he was wearing the merchandise and just helping himself to the food.”
The 7,500-seat stadium is the current home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a professional soccer team. The venue has been void of fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office records, Neja was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting an officer without violence. As of Thursday, he was being held in the Pinellas County jail in lieu of $5,150 bail.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Homeless man made himself at home in Florida stadium suite for two weeks, police say."