Drift, baby, drift
A man who passed out drunk on a pool float was found drifting a mile from shore in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. Coast Guard officials near Tampa came to the rescue after a boater reported seeing the unconscious man bobbing along off shore. Jerry Whipple was still unconscious when rescuers pulled him aboard.
“This guy got lucky,” said Petty Officer First Class Mariana O’Leary. “Depending on what the tides and currents are doing, he could have never been seen again.”
Draft, baby, draft
A man called 911 from the back of a tractor-trailer after he jumped onto the 18-wheeler on a dare from a drinking buddy.
Brandon Farmer, 24, told a dispatcher that he was “holding on for dear life,” and that it was a stupid idea.
The man said he jumped onto the semitrailer as a “joke” when it was stopped at a red light. The truck traveled nearly 17 miles on an Ohio highway before an officer spotted Farmer waving and hollering from its ladder. The trucker was not aware of the live cargo onboard.
Dude, where’s my car?
Three Pennsylvania men were charged with theft after they forgot where they parked their getaway vehicle.
Police responded to a report of three suspects trying to enter a locked vehicle. Two of the men walked away after the car alarm sounded. But one man remained and was arrested after the victim identified him. Police found the other two meandering nearby, lost and looking for their car.
The three are accused of taking a radar detector, two GPS units, a DVD player and two pairs of sunglasses from vehicles.
Tag, you’re it
A burglary suspect was charged after authorities say they found the license plate from his car at the crime scene.
The Florida Times-Union reports that security camera video from a March gas station break-in shows a sedan pulling up to the store and a man smashing the window and stealing cigarettes. Before the car drives away, the video shows the car’s license plate falling off.
Jacksonville police traced the plate to Gary Browder, 49, who happened to already be in jail for two unrelated counts by the time cops tracked him down.
Dial-a-dope
An Indiana man was arrested after he denied trying to sell a stolen trailer on Craigslist.com, then answered the cell phone for the number listed in the advertisement.
Police said the victims saw the missing trailer listed for sale online and went to investigate. A police officer arrived, but the seller, Gerard T. Ray, refused to answer any questions about where the trailer came from. The cop then had the victim call the number on the listing — and Ray’s cell phone started to ring.
Police arrested Ray on a charge of receiving stolen property.
— Compiled by Scott McCabe
