Curses, foiled again
Police investigating the theft of $400,000 worth of prescription drugs from a pharmacy in Upper Darby, Pa., had few leads until a man called to say he was concerned because he saw keys in the trunk of his neighbor’s car. The Philadelphia Daily News reported that officers responded, opened the trunk and found crowbars, a diagram of the pharmacy and a gym bag containing most of the stolen drugs with the neighbor’s name, Thomas Ferkler, on it. They arrested Ferkler, 43. Elias Efremidis, 52, lived in Front Royal, Va., without incident for 21 years until he was arrested for shining a laser pointer at police. While charging him, officers learned Efremidis had been wanted in Massachusetts on drug trafficking charges since 1988. He was returned to authorities in Boston.
Always the last place you look
After emergency crews rescued a man stuck in a toilet at a rest area in Filer, Idaho, he explained he couldn’t find his car keys after using the lavatory and reckoned they must have fallen in. The Twin Falls Times-News reported the man removed the base of the toilet and climbed in to search but couldn’t climb back out. “It took some lifting to get him out, and he had cut himself pretty good trying to get himself out,” Police Chief Cliff Johnson said, noting that while the man was rinsing off with a fire hose “he discovered the keys were still in his back pocket.”
Mensa reject of the week
Matthew F. Dugger, 21, was treated for shrapnel wounds at a hospital in Cape Coral, Fla., after one of the bullets he was hitting with a hammer in his driveway exploded.
Way to go
Joseph Rusin, 87, died after he caught fire while riding his bicycle in Bethpage, N.Y. Fire official Vincent McManus said Rusin was apparently smoking a cigarette, which ignited the nylon jacket he was wearing.
Haider Kadhim, an Iraqi soccer player on a local team in Hilla, was shot dead as he tried to score the tying goal in the final minutes of a match. Reuters reported that police arrested a fan of the opposing team in the crowd who they said fired a pistol at the player.
Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Submit items, citing date and source, to P.O. Box 8130, Alexandria VA 22306.
