Vero Beach man angry about arrest, floods room at jail, officials say

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. - INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A man who was "heated" about his arrest charging him with stealing an air conditioner broke a jail fire water sprinkler, flooding a room, according to sheriff's reports.

That disrupted the jail's entire booking area, where newly arrested people are brought in.

Travis Watters, 21, was in a temporary cell in the booking area when he reached up and broke the sprinkler head. Jail officials quoted him as saying "He was playing with the sprinkler head and something broke," according to reports.

But before Watters was brought to the jail on Monday, Vero Beach Police used a Taser to subdue him because they said he was combative when he was arrested on grand theft charges at his home in the 1400 block of 36th Avenue. The unemployed man is accused of taking an air conditioner from a home in Vero Beach to sell it for cash.

Now he also is charged with criminal mischief in the jail.

According to the arrest report, "He decided to break the glass tube within the head of the fire extinguisher that is attached to the roof of the cell via piping that runs throughout the facility.

"As the tube broke, it released a large amount of water containing oil-like substance that is used to extinguish a fire. In doing so, it flooded the entire cell and floor areas outside the cell" until the water was shut off.

Jail officials couldn't estimate the amount of water that flowed out except to say "a lot."

After the incident, Watters was cooperative while being handcuffed and taken to a regular jail cell, officials said.