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Truck rolls away, re-parks itself

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A California man who called police after his truck disappeared from a convenience store said security video revealed the vehicle had effectively stolen itself.

Michael Otero said he left the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked when he exited the red pickup truck to enter a 7-Eleven store Sunday in Laguna Beach, so he feared the worst when he came out of the store to find no trace of his vehicle, the Orange County (Calif.) Register reported.

Otero said police arrived and screened surveillance camera footage to find a most improbable explanation for the mystery. The video shows the manual transmission truck -- which Otero said had been put into first gear with the parking brake on -- rolling in reverse from its parking space and heading toward the street until it curved and slid into an empty parking spot in an adjacent lot.

"I'm just cracking up," Otero said. "I just thank God it didn't hurt anyone."

Otero said the truck received only minor damage from hitting a wall when it slid into its new parking space.

He planned to have a mechanic look at it to try to determine why it rolled on its own with the parking brake on and the transmission in gear.

Man arrested after seeking handcuff help

BARNSTABLE, Mass., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Police in Massachusetts said a man who asked officers for help removing handcuffs wound up in another pair when officers discovered warrants for his arrest.

Barnstable police said Allahmanamjad Barbel, 21, arrived at the police station at 2 p.m. Wednesday with a set of police-issue handcuffs dangling from one wrist, the Cape Cod (Mass.) Times reported.

Barbel told officers that his younger sister had slipped the handcuffs onto his wrist during a children's party in Hyannis, Mass. He said he decided to ask police for help after his family was unable to locate a key or cut through the Smith and Wesson police-issue handcuffs.

However, Barnstable police Sgt. Sean Sweeney said officers were suspicious and ran Barbel's name through the state warrant system. Officers were able to find a key to remove the cuffs from the 21-year-old's wrist, but those cuffs were soon replaced by a pair of the station's handcuffs when the search revealed warrants for driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident, threatening to commit a crime and making annoying phone calls.

"He asked if we used the cuffs he'd come in with, but no, we got a brand new set for him," Sweeney said.

Police said they were unable to discover the origin of the handcuffs Barbel was wearing when he arrived.

Police: 'Zorro' suspect arrested

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they have captured a man suspected of being "Zorro the Bandit," a serial robber who wore a Zorro-style dark fedora during his crimes.

Tampa police said an anonymous tipster identified the bandit, who was wanted in connection with eight recent holdups at area businesses, as George Shaw, 50, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported.

Shaw was arrested after detectives matched his fingerprints to a set found on a bag of M&Ms candy recovered after a Jan. 29 robbery at a St. Petersburg CVS Pharmacy.

Investigators said Shaw allegedly robbed three St. Petersburg businesses and five in Hillsborough, Fla., between Jan. 19 and Monday. Investigators said Shaw would use a silver handgun to threaten clerks and steal thousands of dollars from the stores.

However, Shaw insisted the M&Ms could not have been his, as he suffers from diabetes.

"I don't eat candy," he told police.

Shaw has been charged with four counts of armed robbery and police said more charges are expected.

Hindu group developing cow urine beverage

HARDWAR, India, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- An official with India's oldest and largest Hindu nationalist movement said a new soft drink made from cow urine could hit store shelves by the end of the year.

Om Prakash, head of the Cow Protection Department of the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said "gau jal," or "cow water," is in the final stages of laboratory testing and would be made available to the public "very soon, maybe by the end of this year," The Times of London reported.

"Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty too," Prakash said from his headquarters in Hardwar.

He said the unique selling point of the drink "will be that it's going to be very healthy. It won't be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins."

Hindu tradition reveres cows and the urine and feces of the animals are often consumed to "purify" members of lower castes during rituals.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and offshoots including the Bharatiya Janata Party have been promoting cow urine since 2001 as a remedy for medical conditions including liver disease, obesity and cancer.

Prakash said he expects his drink to be a major competitor with U.S. cola brands in India.

"We're going to give them good competition as our drink is good for mankind," he said. "We may also think of exporting it."