Officers with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department apprehended a suspect who allegedly had been walking the streets of his subdivision mostly in the nude intermittently for the past six weeks early Wednesday morning.
Daniel Mark DeLullo, a 54-year-old resident of the Avon Bend subdivision off Kabletown Road, was apprehended by Cpl. V.H. Tiong and Deputy D. Fletcher after a foot pursuit that ended when officers shocked the suspect with a Taser. The suspect was charged with indecent exposure, fleeing on foot and wearing a mask, all misdemeanors, according to Jefferson County Magistrate Court records.
Reports of a man wearing only a ski mask, tennis shoes and gloves walking around the subdivision started coming in about six weeks ago, according to Jefferson County Sheriff Robert "Bobby" Shirley.
Residents said the man would usually be seen between 3 and 6 a.m. walking in the vicinity of MacBeth Drive.
"There were times when people were leaving their homes to go to work, they would come upon him naked, buck naked, out walking ... and there were times when school buses were in the area down there and they saw this," Shirley said. "... We received six or eight calls throughout this time period - we would respond down there and he'd be gone when we get there."
Shirley met with local homeowners about two weeks ago to try and address the problem and proceeded to set up video surveillance around certain parts of the subdivision. When the video surveillance proved unsuccessful, the Sheriff's Department stationed two officers in a residence near the road during the hours the suspect had been seen, according to Shirley, who stayed two nights in the residence during the investigation.
"Last night, lo and behold, here he appears, and (officers) observed him coming up to the house ... and they exited the door and yelled out, 'Sheriff's Department! Stop!' Well he takes off running," Shirley said. "... They run him about 150 yards, they have to Tase him. ... He's continuing to flee, running up the road naked and finally they Tase him, get him on the ground and take him into custody."
Officers began the pursuit at approximately 3:49 a.m., and the suspect was checked for injuries by emergency medical services personnel. Following processing at the Sheriff's Department, DeLullo was transported to the Eastern Regional Jail.
When questioned, DeLullo allegedly said he was walking around naked for his own enjoyment and didn't believe he was doing anything wrong, according to Tiong.
Shirley credited the relationship between the community and the JCSD as helping to catch the suspect and hopes that communities in Jefferson County with problems such as this, or other problems that require help from law enforcement officers, will contact the department.
"This is what we can gain by the community working with law enforcement. ... (Cooperation) brought this to a successful arrest," Shirley said.
Michelle Taylor, an Avon Bend resident since 1988, said she was grateful for the Sheriff's Department's actions.
"I feel much better now that he's been identified and arrested. Not knowing who it was and what this person's intentions were, particularly wearing the mask and gloves ... it's actually been quite frightening as a resident, especially as a woman," Taylor said over the phone Wednesday. "... I'm very appreciative that (Shirley) actually spent the time and resources to catch him."
DeLullo was arraigned in Jefferson County Magistrate Court Wednesday and was later released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond.
