Man gets arrested to keep warm

Bruce Hodgson arrested 9 times in Dec, Nov, Jan, Feb, March in last 3 years

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ A homeless man shows a pattern of going to jail when it's cold outside.

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Bruce Hodgson, 38, was arrested Monday at a Home Depot in Pompano Beach. He is charged with failure to leave property upon order by owner.

According to an arrest affidavit, the Home Depot store manager told deputies Hodgson appeared intoxicated and was causing a disturbance inside the store, located at 1151 W. Copans Road.

The deputy wrote that Hodgson left, then returned 15 minutes later and approached the deputy and the manager. When he was told to leave or be arrested, Hodgson turned around, placed his hands behind his back, and said, "Go ahead -- arrest me."

Hodgson appeared before Judge John Hurley in bond court Tuesday. The two appeared cordial.

WATCH: Hodgson appears in bond court

"Hi, Bruce, good to see you again, How ya been?" asked Hurley. "Bruce, you didn't try to get arrested this time, did you?"

"Really, I was going back to get another cup of coffee," answered Hodgson.

"Come on, Bruce. Did it get too cold out [and] you wanted to get arrested?" said Hurley.

Hodgson laughed and said, "I don't know."

"Yeah, I got it. When I read this this morning, I read right through this," said Hurley. "It got too cold out there, and you wanted to get arrested. Am I right?"

"Maybe," replied Hodgson.

"See, I knew it, Bruce," said Hurley. "Well, it's good to see you again. Sorry it had to be in jail. Oh, and Bruce even said, 'Go ahead and arrest me.'"

Hurley asked if Hodgson wanted to stay until Thursday. Hodgson shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Alright, Bruce, I'll reset this for Thursday in the afternoon," answered Hurley. "I think we're going to get into the 70s this weekend. Take care."

Hurley then called Bruce a regular and said, "I can read Bruce like a book."

The Broward Sheriff's Office says Hodgson has been arrested 16 times over the last three years. Police arrested him nine times between November and March. The average low temperature on the days of those nine arrests was 52 degrees.

"Sometimes, despite our best effort, people wind up in jail," said Dani Moschella with the Broward Sheriff's Office. "I think the judge showed great compassion in realizing there is somebody here who's struggling, who's, cold and he's looking for a warm place to stay."

Moschella said the main jail had 1,316 inmates Wednesday, or was at 85.3 percent capacity. It costs $116 a day to house an inmate in the Broward County Jail.

Homeless shelters often don't take people who are intoxicated.