Monday, August 30, 2010
Oddly enough
Mistaken identity lands pastor in jail
SHREVEPORT, La.
A series of unfortunate coincidences led to a case of mistaken identity that put a Louisiana minister behind bars for nearly eight hours.
Gregory Jones, pastor at Eden Worship Center, was pulled over for speeding and arrested as a man wanted for violating parole in Texas.
The minister not only had the same name as the wanted man, but the same birthdate — and a Texas driver’s license. So he wound up handcuffed and taken to a Shreveport jail.
Jones says deputies treated him well and assured him they were checking his claims. A photograph and fingerprint check eventually confirmed he wasn’t the wanted man.
Caddo Lt. Don Gibbs says the department was sorry for Jones’ inconvenience but committed to ensuring that wanted criminals don’t accidentally go free.
Police seize cocaine embedded in bologna
HOLYOKE, Mass.
A Massachusetts man has been arrested after a kilogram of cocaine hidden inside a hollowed-out chunk of bologna was delivered to his home.
Holyoke police say they were tipped off by postal inspectors in Puerto Rico who had been investigating similar shipments. A dog confirmed the presence of drugs, and the bologna was cut open.
The meat was then repackaged, and an undercover postal inspector delivered it to a Holyoke address about 4:45 p.m. Thursday. A woman sitting on the front steps signed for it.
Police then executed a search warrant and arrested a 30-year-old man on a cocaine-trafficking charge.
Police say the cocaine had a street value of $100,000. The investigation is ongoing.
Torpedo found at construction site
PHILADELPHIA
A police bomb squad had to be called to a Philadelphia construction site after someone found an old, inert torpedo.
PennDOT spokesman Charles Metzger says a transportation department archaeological team found two men sitting on the torpedo drinking beers on Friday morning.
He says the men told the archaeologists they had found the munition.
Metzger says the dig team called police, who dispatched a bomb squad. The squad determined the torpedo was not explosive.
The construction site is related to an Interstate 95 interchange project in the city’s Kensington neighborhood.
It’s close to the location of an old shipyard where warships were built during World War II.
Police say no charges are expected.
Associated Press
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