Man beats attacker with giant candy cane

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A California man used a 2-foot decorative lawn candy cane to beat and subdue a neighbor who allegedly attacked guests with a knife, police say.

Sacramento, Calif., Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the candy cane-wielding man confronted neighbor Donald Kercell, 49, who had allegedly become intoxicated and was threatening people gathered on a lawn with a kitchen knife, The Sacramento Bee reported Saturday.

Leong said that when Kercell allegedly cut some of the guests' clothing, the man decided to fight back, grabbing the candy cane Christmas decoration from the lawn and beating him in self-defense. Other guests called police, and Kercell was arrested and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

The candy cane man was not charged, the Bee reported. He was not named in the newspaper story.