Haines City man accused of fire station break-in on Christmas, stealing PCSO Grady Judd cowboy hat

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A Haines City man is behind bars for an alleged crime spree over the holidays. 

The backstory:

According to the Winter Haven Police Department, Daniel Puga, 22, is accused of stealing a Polk County Sheriff’s Office Grady Judd cowboy hat from a truck and breaking into a Winter Haven Fire Station early Christmas morning.

At around 7:00 a.m. on Christmas, officers responded to 301 Avenue G Southwest, for reports of a suspicious person at the fire station.

Puga was detained after officers arrived and saw him wearing a Winter Haven Fire Department Recruit uniform shirt and carrying a PCSO Grady Judd cowboy hat.  

Courtesy: Winter Haven Police Department

Security video at the fire station showed Puga enter the door of an administrative building at 5 a.m. while it was still closed for the holidays.

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Police say Puga took a shower inside the station, rummaged through administrative offices, grabbed a recruit shirt and took candy from desks. 

Fire department members later confirmed Puga did not have permission to be in the building, which had been closed since Tuesday evening.

Shortly after Puga was taken into custody, a caller reported a truck parked at JC’s Customs had a broken back window and a door left open.

Officers reached out to the owner of the vehicle, who said he was out of town but had made sure to secure the vehicle two days earlier.

Police checked the vehicle for the owner. The only item reported missing was none other than a "one of a kind" PCSO Grady Judd cowboy hat.

The owner provided the stolen hat’s size — which matched the hat police had recovered from Puga, WHPD said.

Puga was arrested and faces two felony counts of burglary. He was also booked on two misdemeanor counts of petit theft.