Ist zwar auf englisch, aber doch sehr amuesant...
Believe It or Not - Strange tales from the police log: Alleged truck theft leaves awful aftertaste
Thursday, January 13, 2005
By MARGARET ELLISand JOHN BRANTON, Columbian staff writers
A 26-year-old man's first mistake was allegedly stealing a tractor-trailer rig that had been left unattended with the engine running, police say.
His second blunder was mistaking the truck driver's tobacco-spit cup for something refreshing, and taking a swig.
Cuitlahvac Renteria-Martinez was arrested on suspicion of first-degree theft at about 9:40 a.m. Monday, shortly after he choked or gagged on the tobacco-juice aperitif and called 911 for medical help, according to a Vancouver Police Department report.
The tale of alleged instant justice had its roots earlier Monday, the report said, when the driver of a $60,000 Freightliner left it unlocked and running, with the keys in it, in the parking lot of Sears at Westfield Shoppingtown Vancouver. Inside the trailer was about $15,000 worth of merchandise.
The driver told police he went inside the store to wash grease off his hands.
When he emerged with clean hands, he saw someone making a getaway in the truck. Police soon arrived and learned from the truck's onboard Global Positioning System that it was at Southeast 164th Avenue and Mill Plain Boulevard in Fisher's Landing.
As officers converged on the truck, the report said, Renteria-Martinez called 911 and said, through a Spanish-language translator, that he was choking and needed medical help.
Police said they found the suspect in the truck and took him into custody.
Asked what happened, the report said, Renteria-Martinez explained that he was driving down the road when he saw a cup. Without knowing what was in it, he took a drink and quickly learned that it was the rightful driver's "tobacco spit," the report said.
The suspect, who lives at xxxxxxx., was being held on $20,000 bail in the Clark County Jail on Wednesday and is to appear in court Jan. 21.
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