Suspect Offers Explanation For His Nudity

JULY 21--A man who stripped off his clothes outside a Florida motel told police that, “I get naked when I get really happy or really sad,” according to an arrest report.

John Walter Lee Gill, 47, was arrested Wednesday morning after disrobing on the sidewalk outside the Kenwood Village Inn in St. Petersburg. The unemployed Gill is residing at the motel, which is across the street from Dunkin’ Donuts and Fray’s Donut House.

Police allege that Gill, seen at right, exited his room and spotted “multiple people sitting outside of their rooms at the same motel, including children.” He then allegedly “dropped his shorts exposing his entire naked body.”

While kids nearby only saw Gill’s buttocks, a patrolman reported that she witnessed Gill “standing completely nude in front of the motel in plain view of the public and other guests of the motel.”

Gill, Officer Amy Dewitt noted, “made a spontaneous statement advising, ‘I get naked when I get really happy or really sad.’” The report does not reveal Gill’s emotional state at the time he disrobed, though his decision to get naked may have been influenced by drugs.

Charged with indecent exposure and obstruction, Gill is being held in the county jail on the misdemeanor charges. (1 page)