Background: J.V. Conte Detention Facility in Broward County. Broward County Sheriff’s Office website. Inset: Terry Jennings booking photo, Coconut Creek Police Department.
Usually, after committing a crime, burglars run away from the police. But this week in Florida, an accused burglar ran up to a police officer stopped at a traffic light and boldly asked for help.
Terry Jennings of Pompano Beach, Florida, was taken into custody on April 29 according to a statement from the Coconut Creek Police Department.
The records of the arrest lack details about what happened during the alleged interaction with the officer. However, police stated that the 24-year-old man spotted the parked police car after fleeing the scene of the crime and “ran up to him seeking help.”
“The officer quickly realized that the man was running from a resident after the resident caught him attempting to break into his home in South Creek,” the department said Wednesday.
“It’s a rare case when a suspected thief runs to, rather than away from, a police officer,” the statement also said.
An arrest affidavit alleges that Jennings also entered an unlocked car on April 29 in a gated community and “took a wallet from the center console.”
The wallet contained only $20 cash, the victim’s driver’s license, and an “association ID,” according to the police.
“Terry was later found in a resident's backyard with the victim’s driver’s license and $20 bill in his pocket after being detained by the police,” the arresting officer stated.
Jennings was unable to explain to police why he had those items in his possession, the department said.
Police mentioned that they received assistance from a woman who reported seeing Jennings on a home surveillance camera attempting to break into her car, which was locked.
Publicly available jail records show that Jennings is facing four felony charges, including unarmed burglary of an unoccupied dwelling or structure and attempted burglary.
Jennings is currently being held at the Broward County Jail’s Joseph Conte facility on a bond of $6,000. It is not clear if he has hired a lawyer.