WILDWOOD, Fla. — A Central Florida man was taken to the hospital and will be booked into the Sumter County Jail after he jumped out of an apartment window during a SWAT situation.
Sumter County Sheriff's deputies responded just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, June 11, to the Sandalwood Apartments in Wildwood, Florida, located just 50 miles northwest of Orlando. First responders received several 911 calls about a car that reportedly crashed into one of the apartment buildings and the driver was allegedly breaking into apartment units.
After deputies arrived, they were able to identify the driver as 44-year-old Corey Michael Payton, who had barricaded himself in a second story apartment he was burglarizing, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. Payton has an extensive criminal history with a total of 139 prior felony charges and 30 total felony convictions, the agency added.
While barricaded inside the apartment, deputies said Payton made threats to shoot them, so deputies evacuated the neighboring apartments considered to be in danger. The SWAT team was also called in to respond to the incident.
The crisis negotiation team was able to make verbal contact with Payton through a second-floor window he had broken out and after several hours, he surrendered peacefully. Payton then jumped out the second-story apartment window to the ground, the sheriff's office said.
The Villages Fire Rescue was able to initiate life-saving measures and Payton was later airlifted by helicopter to a regional trauma center.
While surveying the burglarized apartments, deputies found Payton's ankle monitor that had been cut off and left inside. He was on parole for burglary and on supervised release. The sheriff's office checked his parole status and learned that Payton previously violated his parole and was wanted pursuant to an arrest warrant issued a few days prior on June 9.
Charges from Sunday's investigations are still pending, however, the sheriff's office said possible charges include burglary to an occupied dwelling, burglary to a swelling and multiple counts of criminal mischief.
Once Payton is released from the hospital, he is expected to be booked into the Sumter County Detention Center.
