WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) - Santa must have a trick. A man who was locked out of his house in this Denver suburb tried to get in by sliding down the chimney early Friday, but he got stuck and had to be rescued, authorities said.
The man, whose name wasn't released, fell about 12 feet down the shaft. Authorities said he was hurt but did not elaborate on the nature and extent of his injuries.
He convinced authorities it was his home, and there was no evidence he was breaking in, city spokeswoman Jennifer Galli said. Police were present but made no arrests.
Firefighters rescued the man by lowering a ladder into the chimney and lifting him to safety, Galli said.
Emergency workers were summoned at about 3:20 a.m., but it wasn't clear who called them.
Stupid shoplifter
Dec 9, 6:17 AM (ET)
LAPEL, Ind. (AP) - A teenager arrested for shoplifting had filled her pockets with so many items that her pants dropped to her ankles as she tried to run out of the store, police said.
Cheyanne E. Dwiggins, 18, is accused of trying to steal candy, kitchen utensils and a box of strawberry Nestle's Nesquik, among other items, from Bauer's Market in Lapel, about 25 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Dwiggins, who was arraigned Thursday on one count of theft, was being held Friday on $5,000 bond.
Store employees became suspicious on Wednesday when Dwiggins, who had been in the store about 30 minutes, walked to the cash register to pay for a 59-cent candy necklace, but only had 40 cents.
Store owner Scott Law had watched Dwiggins and knew she had pocketed several items, so he confronted her as she tried to leave, according to court papers.
Dwiggins tried to run from the store, but Law grabbed her coat from behind and held onto her until police arrived.
When Police Chief Dennis Molina pulled up, he saw Dwiggins' bare behind as she tried to escape from Law and back out of the door, her weighted-down pants at her ankles, court records show.
Police also found a potato peeler, ice cream scoop, a set of measuring spoons, two cake decorating gel tubes and six Rollo candy bars on Dwiggins, according to court documents.
Law, who's dealt with numerous other shoplifters in the four years he's owned the store, called the arrest "very irritating."
"Yesterday's incident was just the icing on the cake," he said.
Dec 8, 5:37 PM (ET)
72 year old man arrested for violent home invasions
CLIFFORD, Pa. (AP) - A 72-year-old Reading man was jailed on charges that he committed home invasions in far northeastern Pennsylvania in which other septuagenarians were struck on the head with a hammer and bound with rope and handcuffs.
In the Susquehanna County home invasions, police accused James Edward Farley, of Reading, of striking and tying up Charlie Tyler, 71, of Auburn Township, on Sunday, taking about $500 in cash and two rifles, and striking and tying up Rolland Loomis, 75, of Bridgewater Township, on Oct. 27, taking about $2,800 in cash, according to a criminal complaint.
Farley was arrested Wednesday in Reading and arraigned Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Gene Franklin on two counts each of burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property and possessing instruments of crime. He was lodged in the Susquehanna County prison in lieu of $400,000 bond. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney. A preliminary hearing was scheduled Dec. 18 before District Judge Jeffrey Hollister in Montrose.
One witness, Larry Brace, said Farley had showed him a nylon duffel bag containing handcuffs, zip ties, a ball peen hammer, a steel punch and a stun gun and told him, "I'm a robber. That's what I do."
Cocaine found at Wal-Mart
Dec 7, 8:21 PM (ET)
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) - A man shopping at a Wal-Mart Supercenter found a surprise package in the toy section, a small plastic bag containing cocaine.
The man was shopping near bicycles Monday when he noticed an open pack of cigarettes under a shelf, according to an Edmond police report, and inside the pack was the small bag containing a white, powdery substance.
The substance was later identified as about one gram of cocaine and will be destroyed, police said.
That the substance was found and turned over to police was fortunate, according to police spokeswoman Glynda Chu, who said the amount could be lethal for a child.
Stolen Baby Jesus replaced by beer can
Dec 8, 9:09 PM (ET)
PLAISTOW, N.H. (AP) - A homeowner said Friday that whoever stole the baby Jesus from his manger scene was disrespectful by replacing it with an empty beer can. Bob Chooljain said that the Jesus figure was stolen from the manger scene on Wednesday night.
Chooljain said that he made the nativity scene more than three decades ago with his children.
"It's something we kind of did together," he said.
"You just wonder, what was in the person's mind that actually did that? What was the reason for it? Why leave the beer can? (It was EMPTY!...ed.)What's the connection?" said Chooljain, doesn't want to press charges.
Wooden cutouts of sheep and cows remain; only two of the three wise men stand on either side of the manger. Chooljain said the third was stolen eight years ago.
Chooljain said he will replace the illuminated figure with another doll for the time being.
Dec 7, 4:04 PM (ET)
Creepy News
NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) - A man convicted of terrorizing three teenagers by repeatedly calling and asking them about their feet has been sentenced to nine months to almost two years in prison.
Scott Michael Kundar, 32, was also ordered Tuesday to serve two years probation and to receive psychiatric counseling.
When asked by the judge what compelled him make the calls, Kundar declined to answer.
Kundar pleaded guilty Nov. 8 to three misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats. As part of the plea agreement, three counts of stalking and nine counts of harassment were dropped.
Police charged him on March 28 with allegedly calling three 15-year-olds at their homes as many as 60 times a day and said he also threatened their parents.
Lawyer Nick Turco Jr., who represented Kundar, did not return a call for comment early Thursday.
Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Storieshttp://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/464/this_weeks_corrupt_cops
This week, it's a veritable potpourri of police misconduct with a heavy emphasis on the larcenous. Let's get to it:
In Chicago, three police officers were charged Monday in a widening probe into allegations Chicago police shook down drug suspects. Officers James McGovern, 40, Frank Villareal, 38, and Margaret Hopkins, 32, all members of the department's special operations section, are charged with official misconduct, and Villareal and Hopkins are also charged with home invasion. Four other Chicago police officers were arrested on similar charges in September. All are accused of robbing, kidnapping, and intimidating drug dealers and using their badges to gain access to homes. So far, the arrests have forced prosecutors to drop more than 100 drug cases.
In Norwalk, Iowa, an assistant fire chief is accused of stealing drugs and covering it up. Assistant Fire Chief Michael Wenger, 41, was arrested last Friday after admitting stealing opiate pain relievers used for EMS calls, including morphine, Tordal, and Fentanyl, and altering logs to hide his thievery. He is charged with fraudulent practices and two counts of possessing a controlled substance. Norwalk, which has been without a fire chief for the past year, now lacks an assistant chief, too.
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, a Pittston Township police officer was charged in federal court last Friday with felony drug and weapons offenses. Officer Michael Byra, 28, recently testified he had made at least 60 drug busts, but it appears he had problems leaving the evidence alone. He is charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm during a felony drug trafficking transaction and possession of a stolen firearm. The charges came after the DEA investigated missing evidence -- heroin, cocaine, marijuana, guns, $10,000 in cash, files, and a log book. Byra now faces up to life in prison.
In Ashland, Kentucky, a former state trooper pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges he stole $180,000 from police drug buy funds. Former trooper Louie Podunavac Jr., 41, was a sergeant responsible for the narcotics division in Boyd, Greenup, and Lawrence counties in eastern Kentucky until he retired in July upon being questioned by investigators hunting for missing funds. He admitted in court that he used his access to a state bank account to take money designated for drug buys and transfer it to an account in his own name. Podunavac will be sentenced March 12. He also faces six state charges of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. Podunavac's attorney, David Mussetter, explained that Podunavac broke his ankle in 2003, got strung out on Lortab, and stole the money to buy painkillers.
