See also: Man Living in the Ceiling of the Yard House Downtown Becomes Trapped in Wall
At a few minutes after midnight on December 10, according to Graves's probable cause statement, a white male in tan pants was observed falling through the ceiling of the Yard House, at 1555 Court Place, after which he began to "crawl around the scaffolding at the location." Then he vanished.A short time later, a Denver police officer was escorted to what's described as "a secure area above the restaurant scaffolding where the suspect was last seen."
The location is described as being directly above the Yard House ceiling, about thirty feet into the duct work.There, the officer observed "multiple wine bottle corks" and a cardboard box in which it appeared the suspect had been sleeping.
Also seen in the boiler room, which should only have been accessible to the maintenance staff, was a broken sprinkler head -- one presumably busted by the Yard House's secret resident.
The result was flooding that caused an estimated $100,000-plus in damage to the Yard House dining room and the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel.Hunter Robinson, communications manager for the Yard House, a California-based operation started by former Denverite Steele Platt, told Antonation that the Yard House was forced to close early to deal to deal with the situation and evacuate customers due to the flooding. "Our first concern was for everyone's safety," he noted.
That includes Graves, who was ultimately located around 2:30 a.m. after he was heard moaning inside a wall. His digs currently consist of a cell, where he's being held on $7,000 bond. The beefs against him: burglary and two counts of criminal mischief. He's due to make his next court appearance tomorrow morning.
Here's a larger look at Graves's booking photo, followed by a 7News report from shortly after the incident and the police report.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
