Oddly enough

Oddly enough

Man beats the rap in disorderly conduct case

SALT LAKE CITY

Not McGuilty was the verdict from a Utah judge who acquitted a young man of disorderly conduct for rapping an order at a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Spenser Dauwalder was cited with the infraction in October after he and three younger friends imitated a rap from a popular YouTube video that begins, “I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce.”

The 18-year-old said employees told them that they were holding up the line and needed to order or leave. But Dauwalder said no one else was in line, and the four left without buying anything.

A manager wrote down the car’s license-plate number and called authorities. Officers later cited the would-be rappers in a high school parking lot outside a volleyball match.

Ex-NASCAR racer gets jail time after chase

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.

A former NASCAR driver who pleaded guilty to leading deputies on a chase in his Corvette that reached speeds of 140 mph has been sentenced to a month in jail and probation.

James Neal pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor felony evasion while driving recklessly.

Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino says deputies tried to pull over the 56-year-old at 3 a.m. Monday in San Clemente for a minor infraction, but he took off.

Amormino says Neal was arrested on Interstate 5 in San Diego County after his engine blew up. NASCAR says Neal was a NASCAR track racer at the old Ascot Park track in Gardena in the early 1980s. He never won a national race.

Couple flooded with calls about tax bills

NEW ALBANY, Ind.

Hundreds of people who were delinquent on their property taxes have been calling a couple in southern Indiana.

The callers were trying to reach the Floyd County Treasurer’s Office but got Carolyn and Donald Baxley. The Baxleys have a telephone number just one digit off from the treasurer’s office.

A contractor sent out 2,000 notices telling property owners they have until June 1 to pay late tax bills or lose their property. It mistakenly directs them to call Baxleys’ home telephone number, where the phones have been ringing incessantly since late last week.

Woman hides in coffin to escape custody

MIFFLINTOWN, Pa.

Authorities say a Philadelphia woman hid in a coffin at a central Pennsylvania funeral home to escape custody.

Nicole April Kelly was arraigned on charges stemming from the escape. Police say the 19-year-old Kelly was being transported to jail by Juniata County deputies last week to await extradition to another county on other charges. Authorities say Kelly escaped from the deputies, prompting a search that lasted several hours.

Investigators say the owner of Brown Funeral Home found her in the coffin and held her until police arrived. Kelly remains jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail. It’s not clear whether she has an attorney.

Associated Press