The Odd Truth, March 25, 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.
Suspect Found In Fridge
BURLINGTON, Iowa - Police officers were surprised to find a drug suspect stashed in a refrigerator.
"I definitely heard comments that this was a first," said Greg Hoffer, an investigator with the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force.
Police went to a house on a tip that the suspect may be living there. The homeowner told police the man wasn't there, but gave them permission to search the house.
After a short search, police say they found Jerome Anthony Dobbey hiding inside a refrigerator with the door shut. Hoffer said items had been stacked in front of the refrigerator, which was not plugged in.
Dobbey, 24, was arrested and jailed Friday on charges, including possession and intent to deliver crack-cocaine. The homeowner was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
Pony Escape Rattles Town
LINCOLN, Neb. - A Shetland pony with the Shrine Circus took his show on the road.
The 7-year-old pony named Fort Worth stopped traffic in downtown Lincoln and attracted a posse of police when he bolted through a Pershing Auditorium back door during a Friday performance.
Townspeople and circus folk ran after him, yelling to pedestrians for help.
Gary Boltz was driving on his way to work when he saw the pony, running against traffic down the middle of the street.
"He was kind of running like he was in the Kentucky Derby," Boltz said. "He wasn't stopping for nobody."
Boltz offered the pony's tuxedo-clad trainer a ride. The man jumped in the bed of his pickup, and off they went.
Pedestrians finally caught Fort Worth and held him for his trainer.
The pony was not injured.
Prison Stockpiles Mustard, Cinnamon
OKANOGAN, Wash. - The head of the Okanogan County Jail is certainly prepared. He figures he has a century's worth of mustard on his shelves.
He's also got a huge supply of enchilada sauce, corn tortillas, dehydrated onions and salt.
"We have 75 years worth of cinnamon," said Sheriff Frank Rogers. "That's a lot of cookies."
Jail Administrator Noah Stewart discovered the stockpile when he took the post Jan. 1.
The food company that sold the food won't take the items back, so Stewart has started bartering with the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.
Rogers blamed "inattention to detail of what was being ordered."
Mary Apodaca, Okanogan County's former jail administrator for eight years, said the cooks didn't tell her about the overstocking.
Apodaca said she sometimes bought nonperishable goods that weren't requested if they were on sale, or exchanged a prepackaged item for something less expensive.
"The shelf life of mustard is probably forever," she said. "The cinnamon, I don't think I had anything to do with."
For Sale: Pink Drug Mansion
TARPLEY, Texas - How much does an unfinished pink mansion built with drug money cost?
In Bandera County, Texas, the going rate is apparently around $2 million.
That's according to broker Babo Teich who toured the property last week.
Residents of the small community of Tarpley, about 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, recalled the former residents as anti-social high rollers, known to fire high-powered weapons behind their locked gate.
Last summer illegal drugs were officially linked to the unfinished 17-thousand-square-foot house at the end of a palm-lined drive.
That's when 45-year-old Luis Castro of Houston was caught in Harris County with cocaine.
He pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Federal authorities say Castro financed the home with drug money and seized it on March Seventh.
Now they're looking for a buyer.
Stripper-Turned Mayor Busted, Again
DENVER - An ex-stripper-turned mayor is in trouble with the law again. Former Georgetown, Colorado, Mayor Koleen Brooks was busted yesterday on suspicion of jewelry theft. Authorities say Brooks was arrested at her Denver home on a warrant issued in Canon City. But a Denver police spokeswoman said she didn't know the value of the jewelry Brooks is accused of taking. Last month Brooks was fined $100 plus court costs for making a false police report. She alleged she was attacked by a political opponent. While Brooks lost her job in a recall election, she has since posed for Playboy.
Man Wins $39 Million On Slot Machine
LAS VEGAS - A software engineer from L.A. has hit the biggest slot machine jackpot in history, worth more than $39 million.
The lucky winner whose name has not been released hit the Megabucks jackpot last week at the Excalibur hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
A spokesman for the slot machine maker says the jackpot eclipsed the old record by nearly $5 million.
Excalibur officials say the whole casino was "abuzz" after the man clad in jeans and a shirt won a record $39,713,987.25.
After the win, the gambler was escorted off the casino floor and taken to a VIP area while officials verified the win. He then called his father.
The old world record was about $34.9 million. That was about three years ago at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas.