Offbeat News


Arizona Daily Wildcat
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Cops: Man throws biscuits to distract narc dog

WABASH, Ind. - A driver stopped for speeding tried to distract a drug-sniffing dog by throwing dog biscuits from his car, state police said.

Troopers stopped Jong H. Kim, 23, of Overland Park, Kan., along U.S. 24 on Wednesday, but reported that they called for a Wabash County Sheriff's Department dog after he appeared to be very nervous and at one point vomited.

As the dog walked around the car, Kim threw dog biscuits and debris out the window toward the dog in an apparent attempt to distract it, police said. The dog nonetheless indicated the possible presence of illegal drugs in the car.

Kim refused to leave the car and had to be pulled out by officers, police said.

Troopers reported finding about 75 grams of marijuana hidden in the car. Kim was being held Friday in the Wabash County Jail on charges of marijuana possession, resisting law enforcement and drunken driving.

Man burns carpet with static shock from jacket

SYDNEY, Australia - Fire officials evacuated a building in southern Australia after a man triggered a massive shock of static electricity that caused burn marks in the carpet, a media report said Friday.

Fire officials in southern Victoria state said the man, Frank Clewer, had built up at least 30,000 volts of static electricity in his jacket simply by walking around the western city of Warrnambool, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

He received his first shock when he walked into a local business Thursday afternoon. "It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like that," Clewer told the ABC. "Within say around five minutes the carpet started to erupt."

Burns about four-fifths of an inch in diameter were left on the carpet where he had been standing, the report said. ABC did not mention if Clewer was injured.

The Country Fire Authority evacuated the building, fearing the incident might trigger electrical problems in the building, but let Clewer go, the report said.

But when he got in his car, Clewer's problems continued.

"I actually scorched a piece of plastic I had on the floor of the car," he said.

Fire officials took Clewer's jacket and said it continued to give off voltage, the report said.

Calls to the Country Fire Authority rang unanswered Friday evening.