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Pastor seals suspected thief in crawlspace

WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Police in Wichita, Kan., said a local man sealed up a crawlspace under a rental home while a suspected thief was inside taking copper pipes.

The police said the man, described as a pastor, heard a noise coming from under the house and phoned police after sealing a 48-year-old man inside the crawlspace, the Wichita Eagle reported Wednesday.

Capt. Darrell Haynes said the suspect, a prisoner out on work release, was taken to the Sedgwick County Jail. Haynes said officers noticed several copper pipes had been cut from inside the crawlspace.

Cocaine washes up on British beach

LONDON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A Lizard Point, England, man said he turned about 110 pounds of cocaine over to police after he found it washed up on a tourist beach.

Frank Partridge, 57, said he discovered the drugs while walking his two dogs at Pentreath cove, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

"I thought if I didn't take it, someone who might not go to the police would; so I dragged it home, taking it in stages, and then using a wheelbarrow," Partridge said.

"It was a bit too big for a doorstop. But I'm very anti-drugs, having five daughters, so I phoned the police straight away," he said. "Luckily I'm one of the good guys, but you wonder how many of these packages might have turned up and not been reported."

Partridge's discovery followed a similar find by dolphin researchers near Kynance Cove earlier in February. Researcher James Saulino, who made the discovery, said "Columbia" was printed on the inside of one of the packages.

Beer aficionado wins lifetime supply

YORK, Va., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A York, Va., man named the nation's top beer fan by a Colorado-based brewery has been awarded a lifetime supply of his favorite beverage.

Matt Venzke, who was named the winner of the "12th Annual Search for America's Ultimate Beer Fiend," which was carried out via a series of question-and-answer sessions with contestants, won "free beer for life" from Wynkoop Brewing Co., as well as a $250 beer tab at his favorite bar and the chance to design his own custom-brew alongside the company's top brewer, the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press reported Wednesday.

Venzke explained that his new found title was not based on the quantity of beer he drinks, but rather on the variety of brews he enjoys and his level of fandom.

"It's not about drinking high quantities of beer, it's about enjoying the diversities of beer," Venzke said.

Wynkoop said Venzke was chosen for his "humor" as well as "a combination of impressive beer drinking experiences ... and beer ambassadorship."

Suit: Woman forged $1.26M refund check

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Indiana's state attorney general is suing a California woman who allegedly wrote her name on her employer's $1.26 million tax refund check.

Attorney General Steve Carter alleges in the lawsuit filed in federal court that Lucia Abrantes illegally put her name on the refund check Indiana issued to Verizon Capital Corp., The Indianapolis Star reported Wednesday.

Carter claims Abrantes, who is described in the suit as a "rogue employee" of Verizon, deposited the money in her bank account and had it sent overseas.

The banks that processed the check, J.P. MorganChase of New York and Washington Mutual Capital of Washington, were also named as defendants in the suit, which says the institutions should not have processed the altered check.