Man faked crash to avoid jury duty

MORRISON, Ill., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- An Illinois man was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement for faking a car accident to avoid having to show up for jury duty.

Gerald Lee Mance, 60, of Morrison, admitted in court that he took a blank Illinois traffic accident report from the home of a friend who works as a law enforcement officer and used it to concoct a story about striking a deer so he did not have to attend the second day of a jury selection process Dec. 1, the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star reported Friday.

Mance said he faxed a copy of the falsified report to the district court clerk's office.

U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala sentenced Mance to 30 days of home confinement followed by 90 days of probation and 100 hours of community service. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.