Empathy For This Dude

I totally lived in a stairwell in an apartment building in Boulder at one of my homeless points (age 16). The worst is being awakened in the middle of the night by a no ingles habla cleaning lady. From here:

Boulder man jailed for living on top of T-Mobile store's roof

By Vanessa Miller (Contact)
Originally published 10:54 a.m., June 24, 2008
Updated 07:28 p.m., June 24, 2008

A 25-year-old Boulder man is serving one week in jail after police discovered he’d been living on the roof of a T-Mobile store since December.

Luke Barrett pleaded guilty in municipal court to trespassing and obstructing an officer after his arrest Friday. The latter charge came because Barrett initially ran when police told him to put his hands in the air after he was seen jumping on top of the building at 1590 28th St., according to a Boulder police report.

An officer first spotted Barrett at 10:37 p.m. Friday, then called for backup and a fire department ladder truck while checking the building for signs of tampering and burglary, the police report said.

It said Barrett ran farther onto the roof but was arrested without further incident once responding officers spotted him, scaled the roof and drew their guns.

On his way to the Boulder County Jail, Barrett told officers that he’s homeless and started living on top of the building in December, according to the report.

“Luke told me he stays there because he is left alone, no one knows he’s there and his personal items are secure when he sleeps on the roof,” the arresting officer wrote.

Mike Dillon, manager of the T-Mobile store, said employees “kind of had suspicions that someone was living on the store.”

Cleaning employees and maintenance crews said on two occasions that they found and removed cushions, garbage and a sleeping bag from the roof, Dillon said.

“It’s a little awkward,” he said.