stories

MESA, Ariz. - A deputy fire chief in Mesa, Ariz., has been placed on paid leave for allegedly stealing his next door neighbor's lamb and trying to have sex with it. Leroy  Johnson, 52, was booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct, trespassing and public sexual indecency, all misdemeanors, after he was allegedly discovered in a small barn with his pants down holding a young ewe on the ground, the Mesa Arizona Tribune said. The incident began when the neighbor's daughter saw a man enter the corral where the sheep are kept, grab one and drag it into the barn. She told her father who found Johnson with the ewe. When sheriff's deputies arrived and confronted Johnson he admitted trespassing in his neighbor's barn but denied doing anything else, the Tribune report said.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - A man thought he could strike it rich by planting a dead mouse in a burrito at a Taco Bell restaurant. Ryan Daniel Goff planted the dead rodent and then complained to an employee that his burrito tasted "funny." Court documents said that Goff later called Taco Bell's regional manager, Robert Buckle, saying he wanted "something that would make my ears tingle" to settle the matter. Goff was arraigned Thursday on an attempted extortion count, but laughed and smiled as District Judge Thomas Phillips read the charge. "I don't recall seeing anything like this before," Grand Traverse County prosecutor Alan Schneider told the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

ENID, Okla. - Two men incriminated themselves when they accidentally hit the wrong button on a cell phone and gave 911 dispatchers a detailed account of their plot to set a vehicle on fire. Emergency dispatchers and a shift supervisor listened for four hours while the two Enid natives worked out their plan to steal an acquaintance's car and burn the vehicle up. "They made some pretty dumb statements," said Enid police Capt. Jim Nivison. "One of the males said, 'It's gonna burn, will they be able to get fingerprints?' and 'I've got the lighter, Dude. Let's go.'" The two men, Johnny Ray Miller and Robert A. Patterson, were later jailed on conspiracy complaints.

SAGINAW, Mich. - A Michigan couple were surprised -- and slightly injured -- when a turkey burst through their picture window and ran through their home. Maureen and Gerald Henze were watching television Tuesday afternoon when the crash sent glass flying onto them, causing minor cuts on their legs and feet. The Saginaw News reports Gerald looked up and saw the turkey running down the hallway of their three-bedroom house. Closely tailing it was the Henze's dog Donny. Gerald Henze also gave pursuit, grabbing a handful of tail feathers while trapping the bird in the back bedroom. Deputy Kirt Shields of the Saginaw County (Mich.) Sheriff's Department got a little scratched by the gobbler as he tried to release it outside.