Deputies: Naked Man Caught Behind Wheel of Stolen Van

A 24-year-old Tampa man was arrested in his birthday suit Thursday after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say he went on an early morning crime spree.

The incident in question began around 6:56 a.m. when someone broke into Liberty Property Trust, 8406 Benjamin Road, Suite G, by smashing out the front door. Once inside, the burglar poked through the company’s mail and sifted through a few other items, but ultimately left without anything, the sheriff’s office noted in an email to media.

From there, the burglar is accused of paying another business, Arma at 8406 Benjamin Road, Suite E, a visit. Inside that business, the man is accused of swiping four cellphones and then driving away in a Penske van the company had leased.

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Tracking down a suspect wasn’t too difficult, deputies say. After all, they found clothing near the crime scenes that happened to contain a driver’s license belonging to one Michael Anthony Bedell.

Shortly after responding to the burglary calls, deputies were alerted to a suspicious vehicle spotted on Greenleaf Circle, the email stated.

As luck would have it, the man whose clothing and ID were found at the earlier burglaries was sitting inside the stolen Penske van, naked, with four cellphones next to him in the passenger seat, the sheriff’s office stated.

Bedell of 1802 Ellicott St. E, No. 10, was charged with grand theft auto, burglary of an unoccupied structure and grand theft third degree. He was was being held in the Hillsborough County Jail Friday in lieu of $14,000 bond.

Jail records indicate that Thursday’s trip to the jail wasn’t his first time. He has a number of previous theft-related arrests to his credit.

Photo of Michael Anthony Bedell courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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