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Troy Longwell, 52, was arrested after he dropped out of the roof during a church service around 7:30 p.m. He crawled into the sanctuary from an adjoining business, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies received a tip that Longwell was hiding in a beauty shop at a shopping center on Warrenton Road, the Sheriff's Office said. He had warrants from four other jurisdictions, officials noted. The tipster warned deputies that Longwell would run if deputies cornered him.
When sheriff's deputies arrived at the salon, they noticed a ceiling tile out of place and could see a man's leg poking out of a now-exposed crawl space. Suddenly, the leg squirmed away, moving deeper into the ceiling toward a church in the next suite over, deputies said.
Once Longwell made it to the church, he dropped down into an empty room.
Parishioners had no idea anything was amiss until an out-of-breath Longwell walked into the sanctuary shirtless and sweaty, officials said. That's where deputies arrested him.
The Sheriff's Office said Longwell had outstanding warrants from Fredericksburg, King George, and Spotsylvania, among others. Officials charged him with possessing drugs and obstruction and took him to the Rappahannock Regional Jail, deputies said. He was being held there without bond, officials said.
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