Florida man cuts off ankle monitor, rearrested one day after release from 9-year prison sentence: deputies

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man allegedly cut off his GPS ankle monitor and was found overdosed by deputies one day after being released on probation from a 9-and-a-half-year prison sentence, according to deputies. 

Albert Gardner was released July 7 after being convicted of lewd and lascivious battery in June 2014; he was also deemed a sexual predator, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The 29-year-old man was re-arrested the next day and booked on charges of violating probation and tampering with an electronic monitoring device. He was booked without bond. 

Gardner was previously sentenced to five-and-a-half years of supervised release, which was scheduled to end in January 2029.

Photo: Hernando County Sheriffs Office

Shortly before 2 a.m. on July 8, deputies were called to a Texaco gas station on Ponce De Leone Boulevard in Brooksville with regard to someone tampering with an electronic monitoring device. A Federal Department of Corrections Officer was already on the scene, and was looking for Gardner, according to a report. 

Gardner's ankle monitor was pinging at a 7-Eleven on South Broad Street, but officials weren't able to find him there. The ankle monitor, however, was still recorded at the 7-Eleven. Deputies weren't able to locate Gardner at the time – but his ankle monitor was found in a trash can at the gas station, officials said. 

Shortly after finding the monitor, deputies were dispatched to an apartment complex for a call involving Gardner and an overdose, according to the report. 

At the apartment, Gardner's sister said her brother consumed an "unknown narcotic" and overdosed, deputies said. Gardner was found unconscious on top of a bed and deputies pulled him to the ground and began performing CPR, according to the report. He survived after being administered Narcan. 

Gardner was transported to a local hospital. He denied taking any substance and said he had a "grandmother seizure," deputies said. After receiving medical care, Gardner was transported to the Hernando County Jail. 

Gardner is scheduled to appear in court on August 10.