‘Bizarre:’ Naked man arrested after being found in the crawl space of a California woman’s home

A naked man was reportedly arrested Friday after police said he was found in the crawl space of an elderly woman’s home in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police officers responded to reports of a “possible suspect (seen) under a crawl space of a home” on the east side of El Sereno around 10:30 p.m., according to a statement obtained by USA TODAY.

The arrest came weeks after the 93-year-old woman and her family continued to hear “strange noises” in the home late at night, police said. reporting by NBC4 in Los Angeles. Ricardo Silva, the woman’s son-in-law, shared in an interview that the family had “thrown away the animals under the house.”

The noise, which grew louder Thursday evening, sounded like a series of repetitive punches, Silva said in an interview with NBC4 in Los Angeles. The family then decided to call the authorities.

Officers found the naked man in the crawl space after arriving at the home. It took LAPD officers hours to get him out of the crawl space, using gas, police dogs and a SWAT team to lure him out, according to the Los Angeles Times and NBC4 in Los Angeles.

“He refused to leave,” Silva told NBC4 in Los Angeles. “He wasn’t afraid of the dogs, and the first two gas attempts didn’t fish him out.”

The situation was ‘bizarre’, says a family member

The family does not know exactly how long the man was in the crawl space, but suspects that he has been there for the past few months. Silva said they plan to “secure” the crawl space to prevent future incidents, according to NBC4 in Los Angeles.

“It’s crazy, but it’s probably not unusual for people to be looking for shelter these days,” Silva told NBC4 in Los Angeles.

He was booked into jail around 4:30 a.m. Friday and was arrested on misdemeanor charges, according to police. Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. He has since been released.

His next court date is scheduled for Friday, December 6.

The LAPD declined to provide additional information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Naked man arrested after being found in the crawl space of a Los Angeles home