Photo: Nashville Metropolitan Police Department
This is part of an ongoing series of posts about interesting mug shots, we're calling it 'What a Mug!.'
So, imagine this: you're on a business trip and fast asleep in your hotel room when suddenly you feel something wet on your toes.
Well, Pete Brennan was a guest at a Hilton hotel in downtown Nashville and had this experience at about 5am one morning in late March. When he woke up, he found a man SUCKING ON HIS TOES.
The guest immediately recognized the toe sucker as the hotel's night manager, David Neal; he had been to his room the day before with another employee to address an issue he was having with the TV.
Hotel security and Nashville Metropolitan Police were called, and when they arrived, Neal admitted to making a duplicate key card to enter the room, saying that he "smelled smoke" and wanted to check on the guest to make sure he was OK. Neither hotel security or any other guest reported smelling smoke.
As for the sucking on the toes part? He really had no explanation.
Brennan told local news station WKRN:
"It's not like you're camping and you have to kind of keep one eye open. You have that security that's yours, and when you close your eyes, you feel like you're safe and you're protected and it was a complete violation. I was just so, so shocked. I was, 'Who are you? Why are you in my room?' It was almost like a dream, a sort of nightmare. It just didn't make sense. Why is this person touching me?"
Michael Fisher, Brennan's attorney, has already filed a lawsuit against the hotel. He's wondering why Neal was even employed with the hotel in the first place because of his extensive criminal past, including spending five years in prison for manslaughter. He told WKRN:
"Multiple charges of forgery, drinking and driving, a manslaughter conviction as well, which served prison time. When Hilton hired this person, they had to have known. They have to do background checks to know, and the fact that they would put somebody like that in a position where they have the ability to clone keys, have the ability to get into a guest's room."
Police arrested Neal on charges of aggravated burglary and assault, and as of this writing is still in jail on a $27,000 bond.
When asked about the situation, the Hilton Downtown Nashville issued an official statement saying:
“The safety and security of our guests and team members is our highest priority. We are working closely with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, and, as part of company policy, we do not comment on ongoing investigations.”