Police were shocked by what a Florida man did with 75 stolen pool floats

A bizarre crime spree in Palm Bay, Florida finally came to an end with one man’s unusual confession that left authorities stunned.

After months of mysterious pool float thefts that had residents scratching their heads, police finally caught Christopher Monnin, 41, in the act.

And police were shocked by what a Florida man did with 75 stolen pool floats.

According to court records, Monnin recently pleaded guilty to theft and burglary charges related to a months-long crime spree where he targeted only one specific item – pool floats.

The case began when a Palm Bay police officer spotted Monnin riding a bicycle at 1:30 AM while carrying what was described as a “white garbage bag full of what he identified as deflated pool floats.”

This wasn’t a random stop.

For seven months, Palm Bay had been “plagued with burglaries in which the suspect cuts the screen or otherwise enters a victim’s back pool area and steals only pool floats,” according to police reports.

When questioned, Monnin didn’t try to hide his unusual activities.

He admitted to burglarizing several homes and swiping “many floats” over time.

In a twist that nobody saw coming, Monnin then directed investigators across the street from his own residence to a vacant house where he had been storing his ill-gotten collection.

What police found there was astonishing – approximately 75 pool floats of every shape and size imaginable.

French Fries Pool Float

A search warrant inventory revealed the bizarre extent of Monnin’s collection, which included a lounge chair with cup holders, a duck float, a lobster float, a french fries float, a pizza float, a turtle float, a whale float, a banana float, an elephant float, a watermelon float, and even a float shaped like a piece of bacon.

He had also stolen a Shaquille O’Neal-branded “Shaq” inflatable lounger.

The strangest part?

Monnin didn’t even own a pool.

When asked about his motives, Monnin reportedly told police that he “sexually gratifies himself with the floats and does this instead of raping women,” according to the police report.

This wasn’t Monnin’s first run-in with the law over pool float theft.

Court records show he had prior convictions for burglary, theft, loitering and prowling, and violating probation – with burglary convictions dating back to 2007 and 2008 that also involved stolen pool floats.

In 2017, he was arrested for loitering and prowling when police found him with an inflatable raft in his bicycle basket.

While these felony convictions could have resulted in significant prison time, Monnin’s recent plea deal resulted in a more lenient sentence.

Court filings noted that Monnin “requires specialized treatment for a mental disorder that is unrelated to substance abuse or addiction” and that he was “amenable to treatment.”

A judge sentenced Monnin to two years of “community control,” an intensive form of probation similar to house arrest, followed by eight additional years of standard probation.

Monnin, who had already spent eight months in county jail before being released on bond, was also fined $840.

The case, which dragged on for years, finally reached its conclusion just before Monnin’s scheduled June 2 criminal trial in Brevard County.

While certainly unusual, the case brings up serious questions about mental health treatment and the criminal justice system’s ability to address such specialized cases.

For Palm Bay residents, the resolution brings an end to a strange chapter in their community’s history, and perhaps a bit more security for their backyard pool accessories.