Police in North Carolina Received a Terrifying Call From a Man Locked in a Storage Unit
"This is what you get," said the woman who allegedly locked her boyfriend in a storage unit.
Published Feb. 27 2025, 2:46 p.m. ET
Who among us hasn't had a nightmare about being accidentally locked in a small room, without the hope of ever getting free? If you've ever worked at a restaurant with a large freezer, then you know what we're talking about. There are countless stories of folks getting trapped in a mine or falling down a well, some of which do not have happy endings.
Unfortunately, something similar happened to a North Carolina man who was locked in a storage unit for several days. Thankfully police were made aware of the situation before anything bad happened, but it was a close call. An arrest has been made in connection with this incident. What happened? Here's what we know.
A man was allegedly locked in a storage unit by his girlfriend.
According to ABC News, police have arrested 52-year-old Robin Deaton of Matthews, N.C. and charged her with attempted murder and kidnapping. She allegedly locked her 51-year-old boyfriend in a storage unit without food or water for several days. Deaton reportedly asked him to crawl into the back of the unit in order to grab something, then closed the door while saying, "This is what you get." There were two locks on the unit.
It took the man about a week to find his cell phone. That's when he called 911 and explained to the operator what was going on. "My girlfriend locked me in here," he said. "She doubled up my lock, and I don't know how she put me in it but she put me in here." He told the 911 operator that his phone was about to die. When asked if he needed emergency services, the man said, "I just need to get out of here." Police immediately responded.
The storage unit was a mess.
Monroe police Lt. Morgan Malone was shocked by what he saw. "This is bizarre," he told WBTV. "In 15 years, I’ve not seen anybody who has been locked in a storage unit." He went on to describe the unit as "hoarder's paradise" due to how messy it was. "As soon as the officers opened up the door, things started falling out," Malone said. "The further they opened it, more stuff fell out."
The owner of the storage unit was equally shocked by what happened. Although he checked the area daily, there was no indication that anything was awry. Malone doubled down on the fact that being without food or water was extremely dangerous. "If we had been in the heat of the summer, or the super cold of the winter, this would be a whole different story," he said. "I do think this is an important reminder that men can also be victims of domestic abuse."