A 24-year-old man arrested in connection with a robbery ate a bag of drugs and tried to escape police custody by climbing into the ceiling of a Dallas hospital Sunday night, police say.
Officers took the suspected robber into custody at about 8:15 p.m., according to Dallas Police Department spokeswoman Melinda Gutierrez.
The man told the officers he had eaten a bag of drugs to avoid being caught with it, according to police. Officers had the man transported to Baylor University Medical Center for treatment.
While at the hospital, police said they handcuffed the man and left the room while a nurse treated him. When the nurse briefly left the room, leaving him alone, the man then somehow removed the handcuffs.
Police said they heard a noise coming from the room, went inside and found the man had climbed into the tiles of the drop ceiling. They removed him and arrested him for robbery, escape and criminal mischief.
The Dallas Morning News reported that the hospital had to turn away ambulance traffic during the escape. The emergency room never closed, however, according to Baylor Health Care Systems spokeswoman Nikki Mitchell.
The man's identity has not yet been released.
