Fighting friends hid in restaurant freezer after police were called

Police in Eustis, Florida, arrested a man last Wednesday evening after finding him and a man he was reportedly fighting in a freezer.

Michael Allen Higginbotham, of Mount Dora, was charged with battery and remains in the Lake County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.



According to an arrest affidavit, police were called because of a fight at The Crazy Gator restaurant and were told both men ran toward the back of the business. Police were directed to the freezer, where they discovered Jesse Strickland with a bloody nose. Higginbotham was found hiding in the corner of the freezer.

Strickland admitted that he and Higginbotham had been drinking at the restaurant when they decided to catch a taxi home. But while waiting outside, the two got into an argument and Higginbotham punched him. Strickland added that after hearing police sirens, he didn’t want to get Higginbotham in trouble so they both hid in the freezer.