Friendswood police say man dozed off mid-heist

Brandon Eric Arnold

Friendswood police arrested a man early Monday who they say smoked marijuana and passed out while committing a burglary.

Brandon Eric Arnold, 24, of Alvin, is charged with a felony count of theft and possession of a controlled substance.

On Monday at about 12:27 a.m., a Friendswood police officer saw a truck, running and with its lights on, in a ditch in the 2400 block of West Parkwood Avenue, says Friendswood police spokesperson Officer Lisa Price.

The officer found several stolen items in the bed of the truck, and a man slumped over the wheel in the cab.

"He noticed that there was an air-conditioning unit in the back of the truck," Price says. "The business he was behind has a generator behind it, and the doors to the generator were open and there was spilled fuel in the parking lot."

The man woke up and became aggressive when the officer reached in and turned the engine off, Price says.

"He's obviously passed out because he has been smoking marijuana that was in the cupholder beside him," Price says, adding that the officer also reported finding cocaine in the truck.

Price says the A/C unit is worth about $3,000. Officers reported finding other stolen items, including a diesel tank from the generator, a gas grill, an A/C safety switch connected to a length of copper wire, and a satellite dish.

Officers searched the area and determined that all the items had been stolen from nearby businesses, including Moreno's Restaurant, Price says.

Price says Arnold is being held on $40,000 bond.