oddly enough

oddly enough

Police use hidden GPS unit to track stolen teddy bear

ATHENS, Ga.

Police in Georgia say they used a GPS device hidden inside a teddy bear to track down the toy and apprehend a suspect in the theft.

Athens-Clarke County police say Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recycling had been experiencing thefts of clothing from its collection bin at Georgia Square Mall.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports that a company manager concealed the GPS device inside the bear, placed it in a bag of clothing and tossed it into the collection bin.

About 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, the manager called police to report that the teddy bear was on the move. Police said the manager worked with the officer to update the stuffed animal’s location, and a 55-year-old man was stopped and charged with theft by taking, a misdemeanor.

Kia hamster actor charged with disability fraud

LOS ANGELES

A man who played a dancing hamster in Kia car commercials and was a backup dancer for Madonna has been charged with California disability fraud.

The California Department of Insurance says 27-year-old Leroy Barnes of Los Angeles collected $51,000 in workers’ compensation benefits in 2010 and 2011. Barnes claimed he was disabled when a piece of ceiling fell on him.

But the department says he made at least one Kia commercial, performed in a rap group, assisted in recording the song “Cat Daddy,” and was a backup dancer for Madonna, Kelly Rowland and Chris Brown.

Barnes was arrested last month and is free on bail. He couldn’t be reached to comment Wednesday.

Insurance-department spokeswoman Nancy Kincaid said she didn’t know if he had a lawyer.

Principal gets mariachi serenade in school prank

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.

Something seemed a little bit different about Principal John Becchio as he made his rounds at Santa Barbara High School this week.

Was it the trumpeter? The violinist? Or the guitar and guitarron players? Probably all four.

The mariachi group that greeted Becchio in his office Tuesday morning and followed him around for an hour was a prank played by this year’s senior class.

The Santa Barbara Unified School District posted photos and video of the prank on its website this week.

It’s not the first such musical prank.

Last year, seniors at West Linn High in Oregon hired a mariachi band to follow their principal around for a few hours.

Associated Press