Truck Theft Suspect Travis Rose Sentenced for Camping on the Roof of a Florida Shoe Store
A 20-year-old man who was arrested when he was found camping on the roof of a store in Ocala, Fla., is now spending his days in the county jail. Travis Rose (pictured below) said that he and a friend had been living a three-room tent on the roof of Shoe Carnival, concealed by a sign, for about three weeks. Rose pleaded guilty to trespassing and theft of electricity -- police said that the pair had used an extension cord to power fans and recharge cell phones from a store outlet -- and was sentenced to six months in jail.
"We had planned on getting a lot more, too," Rose told a local TV station, WKMG. "We had planned on bringing a TV and an Xbox and putting it under a gazebo and getting fake grass, doing a putt-putt course."
Rose said was inspired to set up the rooftop pad (pictured above) because his parents wouldn't let him hang out with his friends at their house.
"We both still have homes with our parents and everything. It was just a home away from home. A spot to chill and hang out with friends," Rose told another local station, WFTV.
Rose and his friend John Vaughn, also 20, are suspected of stealing a box truck from a nearby parking lot. The truck was found in a pond, missing it's load of furniture and, police said, when they found the furniture in a local home they also received a tip to the young men's whereabouts.
Rose's setup is reminiscent of another recent case in the news. In July, California State Park officials reportedly found a homeless man living in a camouflaged shed in the Tujunga Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary in Sundland. Robert Downs allegedly spent eight months building the one-room shed, and covered it with a tarp and tree branches.
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