Ruskin deputies say a 57-year-old convicted felon was wearing a Superman costume when they arrested him after an alleged break-in aboard a boat. The costume may have been memorable, but it apparently did not help much: James Tidwell allegedly told investigators he “only took three items.”
According to The Independent, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received a call Saturday from a man who said someone had entered the cabin of his vessel, which was anchored behind his Ruskin home. The caller reported that multiple power tools were missing. Body-camera footage released by the sheriff’s office shows deputies approaching and questioning Tidwell, who admitted entering the boat.
The video shows Tidwell in the bright superhero outfit as deputies work through the encounter, turning what might have been a routine property-crime arrest into a strange bit of arrest footage. Tidwell was taken into custody on charges of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and first-degree petit theft. An arrest is not a conviction, and the available report does not say whether all of the tools were recovered or whether a court date had been set.
What The Charges Mean In Florida
Florida law defines burglary to include entering a conveyance with intent to commit an offense, unless the person was invited or otherwise authorized. For an unarmed entry into an unoccupied conveyance, the statute lists burglary as a third-degree felony, according to the Florida Legislature. First-degree petit theft generally covers property valued at $100 or more but less than $750 when no dwelling-specific rule applies, though the precise charging basis depends on the case facts.
That makes the Superman label the colorful part of the story, not the legal theory: Prosecutors would still have to prove the alleged entry and theft in court. For now, the case remains a Ruskin arrest tied to a boat, a set of missing tools and a costume that was impossible to miss.
