Florida Crime Files: Fugitive captured after his girlfriend calls 911 because he slapped her

FLORIDA - A Kansas fugitive was arrested in Central Florida after his girlfriend called 911 on him for slapping her, a Florida custodian allegedly snatched a $9,000 cashier's check from a credit union printer, and a man broke into a Florida home because he though it was his dog barking inside: Here's FOX 35's Florida Crime Files. 

Kansas fugitive arrested in Florida after his girlfriend calls 911 for him striking her in the face: Deputies

Credit: Flagler County Jail

A Kansas fugitive was arrested after allegedly striking his girlfriend in the face inside a Florida home, deputies said. 

Nathaniel Morris, 65, had an active warrant out of the Greary County Sheriff's Office in Junction City, Kansas from March 2023 for offenses that include domestic battery, DUI, and fleeing from several traffic infractions.

On Tuesday, a woman called 911 to a home on Underwick Path in Palm Coast after she said Morris had struck her in the face. 

When deputies located Morris inside of the home, he refused all commands to come out for several minutes, a press release shows. 

Deputies were then able to negotiate with him from a window until Morris opened the front door. 

He was arrested for domestic battery and for being a fugitive from justice, deputies said. 

Morris is being held in the Flagler County Jail without bond. 

Florida custodian allegedly snatches $9,000 cashier's check from credit union printer

Troy Short was arrested and charged with larceny-grand theft on April 13, 2024. (Photo: Sumter County Jail)

A cleaning company staff member was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly snatched a cashier's check worth over $9,000 from a credit union printer while working in the building. 

Troy Short, 56, was charged with larceny-grand theft after the incident that unfolded at the Florida Credit Union at 5805 Seven Mile Drive in Wildwood on April 10, according to an arrest affidavit from the Wildwood Police Department. He was booked into the Sumter County Jail three days later. 

Police responded to the credit union at around 12:45 p.m. that Wednesday and spoke with an employee who said two days before, a man, later identified as Short, entered the bank and grabbed a cashier's check valued at $9,113.14 from a printer inside the office area, the affidavit said.

Surveillance footage showed Short, an employee of High Maintenance Cleaning, cleaning the office area when he grabbed the cashier's check, looked at it and set it back down. Twenty minutes later, he came back into the office carrying a trash bag, grabbed the cashier's check again and left the bank, according to the affidavit. When he left the bank, Short was seen putting the garbage bag on the roof of his car and placing the check inside his vehicle. 

Police spoke with the owner of High Maintenance Cleaning, who said Short said it was a "mistake" and he got rid it in the dumpster. Credit union staff said they didn't find it after a search of the dumpster. 

High Maintenance Cleaning fired Short, the affidavit said. 

In a follow-up investigation, police spoke with Short, who said in a post-Miranda interview that "he took the cashier's check, however upon realizing it was real, he disposed of it by crumpling it up and throwing it away in the dumpster," according to the affidavit. He admitted to taking the cashier's check, but said he didn't have it in his possession. 

Short was then taken into custody and transported to the Sumter County Detention Center. 

His bond was set at $2,500, which he posted later that afternoon. 

Man breaks into Florida home because he thought his dog was barking inside, police say

A man was taken to jail on multiple charges after he reportedly broke into a Florida home to get his "dog", police said.

Jenung Marenah, 32, was arrested by Port Orange police on charges of burglary of an occupied dwelling, providing a false name to law enforcement, in addition to an open warrant for reckless driving.

According to the police, at 4:19 a.m., Monday, homeowners at a residence on E Hensel Hill Road reported an unknown man, later identified as Marenah, breaking into their home and abducting their pet dog.

The homeowners told police that the man claimed he walked from South Daytona looking for his stolen Black pitbull. Officials said that Marenah reportedly heard the homeowner's yellow Labrador barking inside the home as he walked through their backyard and proceeded to break in.

The yellow lab's name is Benny, and its owner is Thai Pham. 

"Loudly, he said, 'Why you take my dog? Why you take my dog?'" Pham explained. "I have a black labrador and a yellow labrador. And he take the yellow one! He take the wrong one, and he say 'This is my dog!' and he take it away."

Officers later found Marenah walking near the home less than 15 minutes later. Police said he initially gave them a fake name. They later found he had an open warrant for reckless driving in Volusia County.