The Odd Truth, Aug. 23, 2003

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.

'Star Wars Kid' Wants Life Back

NEW YORK - An up-and-coming teenage Internet star from Quebec, Canada, doesn't want his newfound fame.

Ghyslain Raza videotaped himself pretending to wield a light saber like a character from "Star Wars" for a school project.

But that private moment went public - very public - when classmates found the tape and uploaded it onto an Internet file-sharing site.

Now Ghyslain is known far and wide as the "Star Wars Kid." The video's been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. Web sites are dedicated to the youth.

Ghyslain says he wants his life back. His parents are suing the parents of the teens who put the video on the web. They say their son has been humiliated.

Ghyslain's supporters are raising money for him. Some have started a petition to get him into the next "Star Wars" movie. A spokeswoman for Lucasfilms won't say whether George Lucas is considering the request.

Oops! He Was Alive After All

HANOI, Vietnam - An elderly Vietnamese man who spent seven hours in a drawer at a hospital morgue in Ho Chi Minh City was found alive by relatives who had come to bury him, an official said Friday.

Nguyen Van Quan, 73, was admitted to the Nguyen Tri Phuong hospital last week after complaining of a tight chest, said Thu Ba of Ho Chi Minh City's Health Department.

By the time Quan arrived at the hospital, his whole body was dark purple. He had experienced heart failure, his blood pressure was zero and no pulse was felt, she said.

Hospital staff tried unsuccessfully for 30 minutes to resuscitate him, Ba said.

Quan was sent to the hospital morgue at 11 p.m. on Aug. 15 and was discovered seven hours later by his daughter and son-in-law, who had come to take him home for his funeral, the English daily Vietnam News reported.

"I was shocked and frightened when I saw the blanket that covered my father moving as my husband and I stood in front of the drawer he was in," Nguyen Thi Gai was quoted as telling the paper. "When the morgue's officials pulled back the blanket, my father's eyes moved, brightening with joy."

Quan was sent back to the intensive care unit where he had fallen into a coma and was breathing through a respirator on Friday, Ba said.

The newspaper quoted a morgue official as saying that only one of the two air conditioners was running at the time Quan was there, which likely kept him from freezing to death.

The incident is being investigated, Ba said. Hospital officials declined comment.

Expensive Britches Burgled

BRADSHAW, W.Va. - Bascom Horn lost his pants - and $7,600 - as he slept.
Someone slipped into the 86-year-old man's house through an unlocked door Wednesday and stole his pants and the cash he had stashed in a pocket.

"I took my britches off and put them on the chair when I went to bed last night," Horn said. "They was there last night at 10 p.m., but when I woke up at 7 a.m., my britches were gone. I had $7,600 in there. They took my pocketbook and my operator's license too."

Horn's house sits along the West Virginia-Virginia border, so he called both the West Virginia State Police and Buchanan County, Va., sheriff's department.

A report by Buchanan County Deputy Steve Blankenship said Horn had apparently left a door unlocked so someone could come in and clean his house.

More Than A Tree Grows In Brooklyn ...

NEW YORK - More than a tree grows in Brooklyn: There was a whole crop of marijuana growing in a national park.

Two men were arrested Wednesday after they were caught tending to more than 200 plants in the northern section of Floyd Bennett Field in the Gateway National Recreation Area, Capt. Martin Zweig of the U.S Park Police said Thursday.

The U.S. Park Police got a tip about the plants about a week ago, he said. They were between 8 feet and 10 feet high, and he estimated the street value in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The suspects, whose names were not released, were charged with felony marijuana possession and criminal trespassing. One man was taken into custody, while the other tried to hide and flee but was caught about 35 minutes later, Zweig said. The second man was also charged with resisting arrest.

The field was the city's first municipal airstrip, but is now used for recreational purposes.

Zweig said the plants were uprooted and were being held as evidence.

"We had to use a front-loader to actually eradicate all the plants that were back there," he said.

While there have been other instances of marijuana cultivation in other parts of Gateway, this was the largest, Zweig said.

Fake Lawyer Defends His Service

SANTA ANA, California - Harold David Goldstein claims he was performing a public service - by giving free legal advice. Problem is, he's not a lawyer. The Orange County, California, man has been convicted of posing as a lawyer and representing unsuspecting clients in criminal and civil cases. He says he was taking on clients other lawyers didn't want. Goldstein contends he has plenty of legal experience, 12 years of writing appeals while in prison on various fraud charges. He now faces up to another five years behind bars.

If This Garbage Truck's Rockin', Don't Come' A' Knockin'

ROCHESTER, New York - There was some dirty business on the garbage truck - but it had nothing to do with trash. Two Rochester, New York, sanitation workers are now out of a job - after picking up a hooker. City officials say the two men were fired earlier this week, after investigators concluded they had sex with a prostitute in a garbage truck while on duty. The unauthorized pick-up was reported by a man who was walking by with his four-year-old niece. Rochester Mayor William Johnson says hiring the hooker was "probably the most expensive sex act" the two city employees ever committed.

Boat Flies Out Of Lake, Lands On Highway

DAVIDSON, North Carolina - All Lucas Croft saw early this morning was a boat in the air. Had he seen it an instant later, he wouldn't be around to talk about it.

Croft was driving down Interstate 77 in North Carolina when a boat went airborne out of Lake Norman and sailed over the highway.

A witness says the boat hit the bank of the lake, sailed over the guardrail and landed in the median of the highway.

Croft says the boat bounced off the hood of his car - but he kept on driving at first. When he realized his hood was dented and his tire had blown out, he pulled over.

Croft says he was lucky because if he had reached the scene a half-second later, the boat would have crashed through his car.

Three people in the boat were taken to hospitals.

Investigators are trying to determine how the boat became airborne.

British Beggar Banned After 97 Arrests

MANCHESTER, England - After arresting a beggar 97 times, authorities in Manchester on Thursday won a court order barring him from soliciting spare change anywhere in the city center.

Leonard Hockey, 51, was warned that he faces up to two years in jail for contempt of court if he is caught begging in Manchester again. His lawyer, Ben Taylor, said the case "will open the floodgates to other local authorities bringing injunctive proceedings against beggars."

"My client is now prevented from begging in the Manchester city area but there is nothing from stopping him begging elsewhere, though I would not advise this as it is a criminal activity," said Taylor, who is advising Hockey to appeal.

Begging is banned in Britain under the Vagrancy Act of 1824, but there is no provision for a jail sentence.

Garage Sale Fantasies And Flea Market Dreams ...

PHOENIX - A Mesa man has achieved what some garage-sale and auction-goers only dream of.

Neil King, 40, spent $75 on the contents of a broken-down trailer filled with garbage bags of what appeared to be old clothes and plain junk at a public storage auction two weeks ago.

But among the mess, King found artwork by the Flagg family, a group of well-known and eccentric Scottsdale artists that could be worth as much as $1 million.

The contents included a carved wooden Indian that is well-known to many Scottsdale residents.

Dee Flagg - who sported a handlebar mustache and wore Western garb - would drive either a Rolls Royce or a 1914 fire truck around town with the Indian he carved as his passenger.

And Dee Flagg was not the only notable member of his family.

His brother, Monte, often dressed like Buffalo Bill Cody and painted whimsical portraits of Indian children.

The auction was held because attempts by workers at Scottsdale Storage Max had been unable to contact Irene Flagg, Dee's sister and another of the Flagg children, or other family members, workers said.

Irene Flagg had rented space for the trailer at the storage company since 1993, but stopped making payments earlier this year.

In addition to the carved Indian, King said he has found hundreds of sketches, paintings, lithographs and sculpture dating from 1890 and created by every Flagg family member.

Man Dies Laughing

BANGKOK, Thailand - An ice-cream truck driver in Thailand died while laughing in his sleep, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Damnoen Saen-um, 52, laughed for about two minutes on Wednesday and then stopped breathing, The Nation said, quoting officials.

The newspaper said Damnoen's wife tried to wake him up but he kept laughing. An autopsy suggested that he might have had a heart attack, The Nation quoted a doctor as saying.

"I have never seen a case like this. But it is possible that a person could have heart seizure while laughing or crying too hard in their sleep," said Dr. Somchai Chakrabhand, deputy director-general of the Mental Health Department, according to The Nation.

The incident occurred in Phrae province, 300 miles north of Bangkok.

Cell Phone Bursts Into Flames, Burns Woman

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch woman who dropped her cell phone suffered serious burns after it burst into flames when she tried to make a call, police said Thursday.

The woman, who wasn't identified, turned the Nokia phone on after it had fallen and held it up to her ear.

"She was treated on site by health workers for facial burns," police spokesman Eric Vermeulen said. "I'm not a technical expert, but we assume it caught fire due to a short circuit."

Reacting on Dutch television, a Nokia official said the fire was caused by the phone battery, which was not manufactured by Nokia.

Clerk To Robber: 'Go To Hell'

VANCOUVER, Washington - A Seven-Eleven clerk had a few choice words for a would-be robber. The clerk told the bad guy to "go to hell." Deputies in Clark County, Washington, say a masked man tried to rob the convenience store near Vancouver. According to deputies, the five-eleven, 330-pound clerk wasn't intimated and refused the crook's demand to open the register. The robber never did show a weapon. Deputies say he left the store with a threat, telling the clerk he'd be back to get him.

Peanut vs. Kidney

HARTFORD, Connecticut - There's a big difference between a peanut and a kidney. At least when it comes to the shape of swimming pools. A Connecticut state Appellate Court has sided with homeowner Robert Strouth of West Suffield. Strouth contends he wanted a peanut-shaped pool, but the contractor was building a kidney-shaped. Strouth stopped construction, and Murphy and Sons offered to complete the pool, but not in the desired peanut shape. The contractors wanted more than $4,000 in labor expenses. A lower court ruled the misshaped pool amounted to a breach of contract. The appellate court agrees. Now, Strouth doesn't have to pay the four grand.

Japanese Execs. Learn To Use Their Noodle

TOKYO - It takes tough managers to succeed in Japan's cutthroat instant noodles business, and one company wants to ensure it has the toughest — through ramen noodle boot camp.

Newly promoted managers at Nissin Food Products need to survive three days on a tiny, uninhabited island where they will dig their own toilets, make fire from dry leaves, catch their own fish and even carve their chopsticks from local bamboo.

The plan is to promote team spirit, perseverance, creativity and an appreciation for the product, said Masanaga Oguchi, spokesman for the Osaka-based ramen noodle maker.

"In our daily lives, all you have to do to make instant ramen is pour hot water and wait a few minutes, and we take it for granted," Oguchi said. "I'm sure participants would appreciate our product in a situation where they have to go through a lot of trouble just to make hot water."

During the Aug. 26-28 boot camp, the group of eight recently promoted employees will camp out on the beach and be personally overseen by Nissin president Koki Ando.

Futon island, about 260 miles southwest of Tokyo, has no electricity, housing or sewage facilities.

Participants are only permitted to take uncooked rice, soy beans and wheat. If that tastes bland, they can make salt from sea water, Oguchi said.

Angry Danish Pizza Man Goes To Jail

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A court in western Denmark has upheld a sentence against a Danish pizzeria owner who refused to serve French and German tourists. He was angry their governments opposed the war in Iraq.

Denmark's Western High Court upheld a lower court ruling that ordered the man to pay a $780 fine or serve eight days in prison. He says he'll serve the time - as a "matter of principle."

He's already sold his business - because business dropped off, people were vandalizing it and police threatened to seize his restaurant permit if the ruling was upheld.

But he vows to pursue his pro-American crusade by selling frozen pizzas on the Internet. And he says he'll put it clearly on his home page: "No pizzas to the Germans or the French."

From The Line Of Fire, To The House Of Fire

GARY, Indiana - After spending months in the line of fire in Iraq, a soldier was awaken his first night back to find his bedroom in flames.

Hours after being greeted by his family to an emotional homecoming Aug. 14, Army Pfc. Nick Crawford was jolted out of bed by his girlfriend's screams of "fire!"

Andrea Melendez's clothes caught fire as she hit Crawford, trying to wake him up as the room burned around them.

"She pretty much saved my life," Crawford told The Times of Munster in its Wednesday editions. "Now she's my hero."

Disoriented and choking on the thick smoke, Crawford broke some windows, hit the floor and then crawled to the stairs as his stepfather tried to douse the fire with an extinguisher. He and Melendez bolted from the house just as firefighters pulled up.

But they arrived too late. The house and nearly all the family's possessions were destroyed. The family was renting the house and did not have insurance.

Everyone survived unharmed. Gaylia Somers, Crawford's mother, said she's relieved her son is alive, but is exhausted after months of worrying about his well-being.

"We are just happy Nick got out," she said. "I'm ready for this roller coaster to stop. I want to get off ... There comes a point when you just can't cry anymore."

The Lord Provides ... Cocaine?

VIVIAN, Louisiana - There was a little something extra in a church furniture donation. But the unexpected gift isn't anything the Vivian, Louisiana, church can use. When members moved a couch and chair into the North Pine Street Christian Center a small jewelry-type box fell to the ground. There was no ring inside. Vivian police officer Trey Rose says the box contained 41 grams of cocaine. That's worth about $4,100 on the street. Police are now trying to figure out who gave that furniture to the congregation.

Porn Star Politico

LOS ANGELES - Porn star Mary Carey has a novel way to raise money for her gubernatorial campaign. She's offering to go out on dinner date with anyone contributing $5,000 or more. Carey is running as an independent in California's Oct. 7 recall election. The adult film actress says she doesn't have the financial backing of a large political party, so she needs to be a little more creative. Carey's platform includes taxing breast implants, making lap dances tax-deductible and installing a Webcam in the governor's mansion.

Cash Blizzard Stops Traffic

GRINNELL, Iowa - Cars on both sides of Interstate 80 stopped to weather a swirling blizzard, but it wasn't snow. It was cash.

An eastbound armored truck somehow lost its load Tuesday night, sending money into the wind. Cars in both lanes stopped and tried to help recover the money.

The truck crew realized the money was missing near a rest stop, said Lt. Rob Hansen, a spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol.

"They knew they lost it and stopped immediately and attempted to retrieve it," Hansen said. "They don't know how or why (it was lost)."

Officers stopped three cars east of the cash spill and authorities were investigating whether the occupants had taken some of the money.

"Some folks ... attempted to benefit from the situation," Hansen said.

Hansen could not say whether the loss was part of a robbery or some other attempt to take money from the armored truck.

"To my knowledge this was the loss of property of no one's overt attempt," he said.

Hansen said the money in the area has been cleaned up.

"There is no reason for anybody to head out there," he said.

Juror-Mooning Burglar Sentenced

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A man who mooned jurors before his conviction on armed burglary and aggravated battery charges has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Cornell Jackson, 29, swore and yelled at Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet before bailiffs escorted him from the courtroom. The outburst followed his trial in July when he punctuated his insanity defense by loudly hooting "cuckoo-cuckoo" and dropping his pants to moon the jury.

Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet said Tuesday that Jackson would have to serve a previously imposed 13-year sentence before he begins his 20-year penalty.

Jackson told the judge at the start of the hearing he was having trouble concentrating because of the voices in his head. He remained calm as the judge ordered him to prison but erupted with expletives when Overstreet sentenced him to perform 1,000 hours of community service during the probation following his prison term. He was then removed by bailiffs.

Jackson was convicted in April of aggravated battery and aggravated assault for a box-cutter attack on his then-girlfriend Kisha Smith on Jan. 21, 2000. He was sentenced to 13 years for the attack.

The second trial was for another attack on Smith the next day. Jackson was convicted of forcing his way into Smith's home and slashing her again with the box-cutter, causing cuts that required 57 stitches to close.

Jackson had faced up to 58 years for the second attack.

Teacher Busted Turning Tricks

OAKLAND, California - What did you do during your summer vacation? Police in Oakland charge a teacher with turning tricks while school is out. Shannon Williams was due in court on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. She was arrested last week after allegedly agreeing to have sex with an undercover officer for $250. Berkeley school officials confirm Williams is a teacher in the district. According to police, Williams told them she only works as a hooker during the summer, to earn some extra money. But Williams says it's all a misunderstanding. She vows to fight the charges in court.

Woman Alive And Well, Despite Obituary

MILFORD, New Hampshire - Police in Milford are trying to figure out who submitted an obituary — which got published — about a local music teacher's wife, who happens to be alive and well.

Someone dropped off the obituary for Kathleen Connor-Allwarden, complete with a professional-looking photograph, just in time for the Thursday edition of The Cabinet Press.

After it was published, family members told the newspaper that Connor-Allwarden isn't dead.

The weekly has printed a retraction on its Web site.

The editor has given the obituary and the photograph to police, who have handed them over to the state police forensics laboratory.

The editor says the newspaper often prints obituaries that come through the mail, saying he's never asked people to prove that their loved one has died.

Parrot Smugglers Arrested At Border

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Border police arrested four women trying to smuggle an unusual cargo — 420 parrots hidden in their van and on their person, news reports said.

Customs officers at the Malko Tarnovo border crossing, some 250 miles southeast of Sofia, found the exotic birds as the women tried to cross into Turkey, the daily Standart said. Some of the green birds were hidden in compartments in the van and others in special pockets sewn into the women's clothes, said the report.

The smugglers expected to get $20 per bird in Turkey, where people often give a parrot as a declaration of love.

The parrots will now go to several zoos in the region, a customs official said.

Mixed-Up Vagabonds Hop The Wrong Train

MARSHFIELD, Wis. - In the end, it would probably have been cheaper for these stowaways to have just bought a ticket.

Thirteen vagabonds who hopped the wrong freight train, ending up in Marshfield, Wis., instead of their intended destination of Minneapolis, were arrested after a railroad employee alerted authorities.

The Union Pacific train stopped in snarling downtown lunchtime traffic for about 30 minutes Tuesday so police could remove the 10 men and three women from the freight.

The railroad had complained of unauthorized riders in one of its boxcars.

The riders, from various cities in several states and Canada, were taken into custody for trespassing, police said. All were cited under the city code for trespass, a $102 fine, and released.

The train had left Superior about seven hours before it stopped in Marshfield, one man said, identifying himself only as David, or "Sleepy," from New Brighton, Minn.

"We were going to Minneapolis but got on the wrong train," he said. "We'll probably all try to hitchhike out."

Bridezilla Wreaks Havoc!

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. - A North Haven bride spent part of her wedding night in a jail cell, after police said she hurled things at reception hall workers who closed the bar.

Adrienne T. Samen, 18, was arrested on criminal mischief and breach of peace charges Saturday after police responded to The Mill on the River restaurant.

When workers there closed the bar, Samen allegedly began throwing things, including wedding cake and vases. Samen left the restaurant, and police found her walking down the road in her gown.

While being taken into custody, police said she kicked the door and window of the police cruiser and tried to bite an officer.

She posted a $1,000 bond and was released Saturday night, police said. She was on her honeymoon Monday.

She is due in Manchester Superior Court on Aug. 28.

Guard Sentenced For Peeing On Inmates

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A former guard was ordered to scrub toilets while serving 15 days behind bars for urinating from a roof onto inmates playing basketball.

Greene County Circuit Judge Don Burrell said Monday he hoped the sentence would help Justin Hastings better understand what it was like to be dependent on those with power.

Hastings, 23, also was given two years of probation and 150 hours of community service. He was convicted in June of four counts of assault.

Four inmates said they were splashed by the urine as they played basketball in July 2001 at the Greene County Jail.

Hastings admitted during the trial that he knew prisoners were in the room when he and another jailer urinated through a roof grate.

A DNA expert testified that urine samples taken from the jail roof could be linked to Hastings. But defense attorneys contended there was no proof that Hastings' urine - and not the other jailer's - hit the inmates.

Both guards have resigned. Greene County also paid a total of $100,000 to the four inmates.

Guilty Mugger Asks Women To Spit On Him

MADRID, Spain - Police in Barcelona say they've arrested a well-dressed serial mugger who would target women, express remorse and ask them to spit at him.

The 29-year-old man was arrested last week and is suspected of robbing 19 women in one month to finance a slot-machine addiction, the National Police in Spain's second largest city said.

The suspect always used the same tactic: corner women in apartment building doorways or elevators and hold a box cutter to their throat, inspector Benjamin Blanco told the newspaper La Vanguardia.

After taking money, the man would apologize, say he knew he was doing something bad and ask the women to spit at him, Blanco said. Some did, he added.

"I've been at this for 27 years and I swear I've never come across anyone who asked their victims to do something like this," Blanco was quoted as saying.

Burglar Spooked By Bacon Face

LIVERPOOL, England - It looked like something out of one of the Hannibal Lecter movies. But it was a case of mistaken bacon. Police in Liverpool, England, broke into a house after a repentant burglar reported seeing a human head in a jar. But the only offense may have been to good taste. Police say what the burglar took for human remains was actually a mask made of bacon. It's the creation of artist Richard Morrison. He admits his bacon mask is a "very macabre piece of work," but he never expected this sort of reaction. He made the bacon mask for an art course two years ago and preserved it in a jar of formaldehyde. Police have apologized and promise to fix Morrison's front door.

Even Clowns Have A Breaking Point

MEXICO CITY - Authorities in Mexico City aren't laughing at a stunt pulled off by a couple of clowns. Police say teens dressed as clowns climbed aboard a microbus near Mexico City's airport. They did a song-and-dance routine, then robbed everyone on board. Apparently, none of the 20 passengers gave the kids spare change after they did their act. So, authorities say the clowns pulled out knives and demanded cash. The suspects weren't too hard to spot. Police say the teens were arrested at nearby park.

Disabled Man Fends Of Crook With Crutches

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - Larry Klein may be disabled - but he's not helpless. A would-be robber found that out the hard way. Klein used his crutches to beat off a crook who was trying steal his wallet. Klein has a prosthetic leg and uses metal-tipped crutches. He says he noticed that a car with two people followed him into his apartment complex in Delray Beach, Florida. Klein says the other car blocked his way and the driver demanded his wallet. But Klein wasn't about to submit. He says he poked the bad guy in face repeatedly with his crutches. After about ten seconds the robber gave up and drove away. Police are still looking for the suspects.

Airline Pays Big Bucks For Lucky Number

SHANGHAI, China - An airline in southwestern China has paid $282,000 for the phone number "88888888," saying it hopes to make its customers happy.

Many Chinese consider the number "eight" to be lucky because it rhymes with the Chinese word for getting rich.

"Everyone at the company believes the number was worth the price we paid," said Xing Bing, of Sichuan Airlines' corporate culture department.

Xing said the number, to be used as a customer-service hotline, had already had a "good advertising effect."

The use of such traditional practices as choosing lucky numbers and consulting "feng shui" experts has become common in recent years, though communist authorities frown on what they deem "feudal superstitions."

Yet the auction was officially sanctioned, with proceeds to go to charity.

Buying the number was not a way of promoting superstition but of pleasing customers, Xing said.

"The number is easy to remember," she said. "It's a number that will make customers happy when they call."

This Sounds Like A Bad Dream

OMAHA, Neb. - Final exams in college are stressful enough, but Joy Conner had even more to deal with while taking four finals in one day.

She went into labor.

The expectant mother's contractions started Wednesday as she was in the middle of her second final exam of the day at Metropolitan Community College.

Her due date was not until Friday. She was hoping the baby could wait. However, her labor pains were only five minutes apart while taking the test.

"I took the test and after every question, I'd kind of sit there and breathe," she said.

Even though she had a good reason to quit and make up the tests later, she completed all her finals for the day before heading to the hospital and eventually giving birth to a daughter, Evelyn Leigh.

The respiratory therapy student said she is happy she completed the tests, even as the contractions got worse. She said she wanted to finish the tests so she could concentrate on the birth and her baby.

Marine Robs Uncle Sam

NEW ORLEANS - A Marine received 14 months in a military brig for using a military credit card for an unauthorized six-figure shopping spree that included a car, a motorcycle and breast enhancement surgery.

Staff Sgt. Sherry Pierre worked for Marine Forces Reserve Headquarters Command in New Orleans when she made $129,709 in improper purchases in 2000 and 2001, military officials said.

Pierre pleaded guilty to stealing from the government in a court-martial proceeding held in New Orleans in June, Capt. Jeff Pool, a spokesman for the Reserve, confirmed Sunday.

Pierre also received a bad-conduct discharge, a $30,000 fine and a reduction in rank from staff sergeant to lance corporal.

The verdict is on appeal, a process Pool said occurs automatically in such courts-martial.