A 53-year-old man, who hid in a ceiling cavity to evade police, faces court today after allegedly stealing a bag with keys to several vehicles from an O’Connor business.

On Thursday evening the business owner discovered the bag of keys was missing and, using a GPS tracking device, went to confront the man at an address in the CBD where the bag was believed to be.

The 53-year-old man ran off and the owner then reported the matter to police.

Police say they found the man at in a ceiling cavity of a business near the Jolimont Centre on Northbourne Avenue, but the man then broke through the ceiling of a hotel lobby in the building and fled.

He was caught by police and a search of his personal belongings uncovered the bag containing the car keys.

Police have charged him with two counts of burglary and property damage.