Hotel owner found crawling on floor next to sleeping guests
BUSHNELL, Fla. (WFLA) – Guests of a hotel in Bushnell were woken up by an unexpected visitor Thursday morning.
They told detectives, while they were sleeping, Manishkumar B. Patel, 49, the owner of the Bushnell Inn was crawling on the floor next to one of their beds. When they confronted Patel, they said he grabbed one of their sheets to cover his face and ran out of the room.
When officers came to the hotel, Patel, as the owner, was asked to hand over surveillance video of the incident.
The video shows Patel securing the premises upon closing at 3 a.m. He’s seen going toward the victims’ room before entering his own room. Then the video stops. The surveillance cameras were turned back one once deputies arrived on the scene.
Patel was taken into custody and charged with burglary to an occupied structure and evidence tampering. He’s being held without bond.
According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Patel was out on bond from a previous arrest for sexual battery and battery. That case is set for trial in November.