Watercooler Stories

Thieves steal $24,000 worth of beer

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis., April 8 (UPI) -- Police in Mount Pleasant, Wis., are searching for three men accused of stealing a truck filled with $24,000 worth of beer.

The suspects, described by police as three white men, allegedly stole two semi tractors from a Will County, Ill., business and attempted to use them to steal trailers filled with Miller beer products from the Hribar Trucking site in Mount Pleasant, the Racine (Wis.) Journal Times reported Tuesday.

However, the men were interrupted and ended up leaving one of the stolen tractors behind and speeding off in the second tractor and another tractor already hooked up to a Miller trailer. Capt. Thomas Petersen of the Mount Pleasant Police the stolen trailer is white and bears the words "Great Taste of a True Pilsner Beer" in blue lettering.

Family pays thousands for lizard's care

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., April 8 (UPI) -- A California man says he and his wife spent $5,000 on medical bills for his beloved pet lizard that eventually died due to an enlarged heart.

Leonard Scheid of Fountain Valley said he and his wife Dorothy treated T-Rex, a Savannah Monitor they purchased in 2002, as a full-blown member of the family: the lizard was toilet trained, washed up in the bathroom tub and was even allowed to sleep in bed with its owners, The Orange County (Calif.) Register reported Tuesday.

Scheid said the powerful bond he quickly formed with T-Rex left him with no concern about money when the lizard fell ill in 2003. The family racked up $5,000 in medical costs for three amputation surgeries when the lizard's tail became deformed, several X-rays, an EKG and ultrasound on his heart and other procedures.

"If they need the care, then it is our responsibility," Dorothy Scheid said of the family's pets.

T-Rex died last December and the Scheids have since adopted another Savannah Monitor, a female named Raptor.

"She is more like a pet," Leonard Scheid said. "He was more like a family member."

Wrong photo accompanies suicide story

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 8 (UPI) -- A manager for a Swedish musician whose picture was incorrectly identified by a newspaper as a man who committed suicide said the paper may face legal action.

Newspaper Expressen accompanied a Saturday story about the suicide of Anders Gothberg, a guitarist in the band Broder Daniels, with a photo that incorrectly identified former Broder Daniels drummer Lars Malmros as the deceased guitarist, The Local reported Tuesday.

The paper posted an apology for the mix-up on its Web site Saturday and a correction ran in the Sunday edition.

"We deeply regret and apologize unreservedly for this discomfort this mix-up has caused," Expressen editor Per-Anders Broberg wrote on the Web site.

However, Malmros' manager, Hansi Friberg, said the apology is not enough. She said she plans to meet with a lawyer to discuss possible legal avenues for the drummer, who currently plays with the band Hastpojken.

"Obviously, it's been very unpleasant both for Lars Malmros' family, and for the relatives of Anders Gothberg," Friberg said.

Man in wrong apartment not guilty

HILLSBORO , Ore., April 8 (UPI) -- An Oregon man discovered hiding in a woman's closet has been found not guilty of charges after he told the court he entered the wrong apartment.

Eric Triton Kincaid, 29, of Aloha was found not guilty of two counts of first-degree burglary, one count of attempted first-degree sexual abuse and one count of invasion of personal privacy, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Tuesday.

Kincaid was discovered hiding in a 24-year-old woman's bedroom closet in Beaverton after she get out of the shower, the court heard. The woman said Kincaid was dressed in women's clothing -- a lacy negligee with fishnet stockings, a woman's miniskirt, a sheer white blouse and a long brown wig.

The woman screamed and fled the room. Prosecutor Gina Williamson Skinner said the woman thought "she was going to be raped."

Kincaid fled the apartment but was arrested several months later when investigators found his DNA on a methamphetamine pipe he left behind in the closet. He admitted to being the man in the apartment, but pleaded not guilty, saying he had thought the apartment belonged to a woman he had arranged to meet for sex.

"This was a complete accident," public defender Ethan Levi said his client told him after his arrest.