Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[LWM]

Barks lead firefighters to dog stuck in water tank (June 23rd, 2010 @ 12:32pm)

CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) - You've heard of a cat stuck in a tree? How about a dog stuck in a tank? The latter is what firefighters found Sunday after people walking by an old water treatment plant in Charleston reported hearing barks from inside. The town is about 45 miles south of Champaign. It wasn't clear how the Labrador retriever got into the empty concrete tank but it was obvious to firefighters he couldn't get out.

Charleston Fire Chief Pat Goodwin said firefighters climbed down into the 14-foot-deep tank and raised the 80-pound dog using a harness.

Coles County animal control officer Josh Pfoor said the dog was scared but otherwise fine. Pfoor said the dog was given back to his owners, who had reported him missing.

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Wash. police find stolen mower in slow getaway (June 23rd, 2010 @ 2:27pm)

KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - Police in Washington state say they caught a man making a slow getaway on a stolen riding mower.

The Tri-City Herald reports officers responding to a burglary call Tuesday morning found a 31-year-old man riding the mower in the street, pulling a trailer of other lawn care equipment.

He was jailed for investigation of burglary, theft and drug charges.

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Police: Man stabs himself, says he was attacked (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) - Authorities said a man intentionally stabbed himself in the abdomen and then filed a police report claiming he was attacked by a stranger. The man, 20, told officers he was riding his bike when he got into an argument with another person on a sidewalk. He said he'd gone to a gas station Tuesday afternoon to inflate his tires when the person came back, stabbed him and fled with his wallet.

The man was taken to the hospital, where police said he confessed to stabbing himself and said no one else was involved.

WEAU-TV reported that officers recovered the knife but aren't saying why the man stabbed himself. Police recommend the man be charged with filing a false complaint.

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Man run over by truck after dog puts it in gear (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)

RIDGE MANOR, Fla. (AP) - A man was reportedly run over by his own truck after his dog put it into gear. The sheriff's office reported that 43-year-old Christopher Bishop was checking under his Ford F-150 for oil leaks Sunday evening. He had put the running truck into neutral and left the driver's door open. While he was under the truck, Bishop's bulldog, Tassey, jumped into the truck and knocked the vehicle into gear. The truck rolled over the left side of Bishop's body.

Bishop managed to get up, stop the vehicle and go into his house. After several hours of pain, Bishop finally called for help.

He was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

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Police: Video game spat becomes Father's Day fight (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)

VERNON, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut authorities said a 54-year-old man and his girlfriend were arrested after a dispute over a noisy video game erupted into a Father's Day struggle with police officers. Vernon police say the man, George Stein, was playing video games Sunday night when a child annoyed by the noise shut the door to the room Stein was in.

Police said Stein got angry and grabbed some kind of weapon, which led his girlfriend's son to call police.

Authorities said the girlfriend, 42-year-old April Devaux, became combative with officers, refused to let go of a front porch post and spat in an officer's face.

Devaux was charged with assault on police and other crimes, while Stein was charged with threatening. Both posted bail.

A message was left at the couple's home Monday.

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Police: Church burglar leaves birth certificate (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)

YORK, Pa. (AP) - Police said a man who stole petty cash from a central Pennsylvania church is in custody after leaving his birth certificate behind when he left. Authorities said 28-year-old Allen Larry Dawes has been extradited to York County to faces charges after being arrested earlier this month in New Jersey.

Investigators said Dawes broke into First St. John's Church in York on May 11. Police said Dawes spent the night sleeping in a hallway and ate cereal from a pantry that holds food for the needy.

Officials said Dawes has no fixed address. He was being held on $16,000 bail at York County Prison on charges including burglary and institutional vandalism. It was not clear if he had an attorney.

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Man drifts a mile into Gulf off Fla. on pool float (June 24th, 2010 @ 4:43am)

BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A man who apparently passed out on a pool float at a Tampa area beach ended up drifting about a mile from Florida's shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man, identified as Jerry Whipple, on Wednesday afternoon.

Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Mariana O'Leary says they suspect the man was very drunk.

The Coast Guard says a boater reported seeing an unconscious man floating well offshore. The Coast Guard and a Clearwater Fire Rescue unit responded and found the man, still unconscious and wearing a life jacket.

He eventually woke up and was checked by paramedics at a Coast Guard station.

O'Leary said the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will investigate the incident.

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Conn. TV reporter: I was working, not shoplifting (June 24th, 2010 @ 7:16am)

MILFORD, Conn. (AP) - Police say a Connecticut television traffic reporter told authorities she was working on a freelance news story when she was arrested for shoplifting.

Thirty-three-year-old Desiree Fontaine is a reporter for WTNH-TV in New Haven. Police say she stole about $105 worth of merchandise from a Milford mall including jewelry, cologne and a men's Hawaiian-style shirt.

She was charged Saturday with misdemeanor larceny, and the police report was released Wednesday.

Police say Fontaine told an officer she was a freelance reporter and was doing "something on the side." She didn't say for whom she was working.

Fontaine's lawyer, Hugh Keefe, declined to comment Thursday.

WTNH says Fontaine is out on personal leave.

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Malaysian charged with smuggling heroin in her bra (June 24th, 2010 @ 12:26pm)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A 43-year-old Malaysian woman was charged with smuggling heroin in her bra. Drug trafficking carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. Prosecutor Raya Hazeelia Mohammad said Harini Che Soh was charged in a court in eastern Terengganu state Wednesday. No plea was recorded.

Raya Hazeelia said Thursday that Harini was arrested last week at a bus terminal. She could not immediately give further details.

The Star reported 20 ampoules of heroin were found in Harini's bra after police became suspicious of her "abnormal bust size."

A woman with Harini was reportedly arrested. It is not clear whether she also was charged.

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'Angry women' detain accused changing room peeper (June 24th, 2010 @ 1:27pm)

CHURCH HILL, Tenn. (AP) - Police say 10 "angry women" detained an accused changing room peeper at a thrift store in East Tennessee until officers arrived. Twenty-year-old Bradley J. Wallen was charged with two misdemeanors, observation without consent and photographing in violation of privacy.

Church Hill police chief Mark Johnson told the Kingsport Times-News that a small hole between the men's and women's changing rooms at the Flashbacks and Reruns thrift store was allegedly discovered by a woman who dropped something on the floor.

Johnson said "10 angry women" prevented Wallen from leaving by blocking a rear door.

Wallen was released after his arrest Tuesday. Jail records do not show that he has hired a lawyer and a Thursday telephone call to his residence was not answered.