Man charged with not paying for taxi ride home from jail

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Authorities say a Florida man was returned to jail shortly after his release because he couldn’t pay the taxi driver that took him home from the jail.

Florida Today reports that 40-year-old Charles Folk was arrested Thursday morning and charged with petty theft.

Melbourne police say Folk hailed a taxi outside the Brevard County Jail Complex in Cocoa shortly after midnight. After travelling 30 miles (50 kilometres) to his Melbourne home, Folk told the driver that neither his sister nor his roommate could help him pay the $70 fare. The driver called the police.

Folk had previously been in jail for criminal mischief. Officials say he had been convicted of ransacking his own home and damaging his roommate’s belongings.

Folk was being held on $2,000 bail. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.

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Information from: Florida Today (Melbourne, Fla.), http://www.floridatoday.com

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