Florida father faces charges in king crab warehouse theft

POLK COUNTY, FL (KTRK) -- A father of eight claims he didn't steal $271,000 worth of king crab from the warehouse where he works, ABC affiliate WFTV reports.

Joshua Paul Warner was caught on surveillance video unlocking a bay door at the Comcar Warehouse in Polk County, Florida on April 25. Two hours later, two masked men entered the warehouse through that door and used a bolt cutter to break into a freezer.

Those masked robbers then used a forklift to put nine tons of crab in a semi truck and escaped.

Carrie Horstman, the spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, believes Warner was working with the masked men.

"We do believe they are all in cahoots together," Horstman said. "He was smart enough to unlock the door and let them in. He was smart enough to lie to our detective. He wasn't smart enough to stay out of jail though."

Warner told WFTV he had nothing to do with the theft.

"This is absolutely crazy! That is a whole truck load, that is a whole semi! That is unbelievable they'd even think that of me," Warner said. "I totally dislike a thief."

Warner has bonded out of jail and says he cannot afford a lawyer. He says he is cooperating with the investigation and has been suspended from work without pay. His bosses did not reply to interview requests.

The crab claws sell for roughly $10 to $15 a pound. The thieves took 18,000 pounds, enough crab to supply a normal grocery store for two to three years.