JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man is facing charges after he stole and crashed a pickup truck into a fence at the Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) on Sunday morning, an arrest report states.
Derrick Barton, 25, was found inside a street sweeper in a vehicle maintenance warehouse, attempting to get it to start, according to the report.
Around 5:40 a.m., an officer with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) Police Department was dispatched to the Avis Rental Car return area of the daily garage regarding a suspicious person.
A security guard told police he called dispatch after he saw a JAA vehicle crash through a fence at the vehicle maintenance warehouse.
The witness added he saw a man, identified by police as Barton, exit the truck and run into the vehicle storage area after the crash.
Officers found Barton inside the street sweeper attempting to start it and held him at gunpoint while ordering him out of the vehicle.
As he was being taken into custody, a baggie of "white powder" fell out of his shorts, according to the report. It notes that Barton was "profusely sweating," had cuts on his arms and made multiple statements about taking drugs and having "salts" on him.
After Barton was read his Miranda rights, he told officers he had been out all night with his girlfriend and had taken what he believed was powdered cocaine around 4 a.m.
Barton added he "did not know why he was at the airport," according to the report.
Barton told officers he jumped the fence at the JAA vehicle maintenance warehouse, ultimately stealing a Ford F-250 truck which he crashed because he was "unable to control the vehicle while driving," the report said.
He said he couldn't explain his behavior and said: "I used cocaine when I was in the military, but whatever I took tonight was not cocaine."
A field test on the substance came back positive for cocaine, the report said.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department responded to the scene and took Barton to the hospital. While on the way to the hospital, a firefighter asked Barton what he would have done if he was able to crash through the airport fence, the report states.
Barton replied: "Probably fly a plane away," according to the report.
The report noted the damage to the fence was estimated at $40,000 and caused a security breach in the Air Operations Area.
He faces eight felony charges including theft of a motor vehicle less than $100,000, criminal mischief, possession of cocaine, trespassing on a legally posted operation area of an airport and burglary.
Barton is being held in Duval County jail on a more than $155,000 bond. He is set to be back in court on July 2 at 9 a.m.