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— A suspected thief trying to help himself to convenience store goods instead wound up crying for help after becoming stuck in an air shaft for 10 hours.
Jeffery Mumani, 25, was rescued Tuesday. He removed an air conditioning cover at a CVS store Monday night and tried to enter the store via the shaft but became trapped, Marion County Sheriff's Capt. James Pogue said. He began calling for help about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
"I heard a cat in the thing. I was trying to chase the cat," Mumani told the Ocala Star-Banner. He denied attempting to steal prescription drugs. "No, sir, it's a feline cat — a little animal."
It took firefighters an hour and a half to rescue Mumani, but he suffered only minor cuts and was in stable condition, Fire Rescue spokeswoman Heather Danenhower.
Mumani has been charged with commercial burglary, possession of burglary tools and felony criminal mischief, Pogue said. Online records with the Florida Department of Corrections indicate Mumani has previous convictions in South Florida for burglary and drug-related crimes.
He was convicted in Palm Beach County for possession of the prescription painkiller Oxycontin, according to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report. Mumani also was arrested earlier this month on an arson charge.
