Crime beat often takes odd twists

MAT-SU -- Police news is invariably bad news for someone. Usually a person has been injured, lost possessions, or has been victimized in some other way. On the flip side, an arrest means a defendant still presumed to be innocent has been locked in the slammer to await trial. Despite the grimness of day-to-day law enforcement some humorous items occasionally emerge, including the following examples.

Wasilla police received a call Wednesday from a Wasilla woman with a curious problem. While she was shopping at Carrs, someone entered her vehicle in the parking lot -- not to take something, but to leave two boxes of offerings. The woman returned to find various arts and crafts pieces along with some ceramic dishes. Police said the mysterious gift donor was seen leaving the parking lot in a white Subaru. Officers surmised that the goods were simply left in the wrong vehicle.

According to a recent edition of the Peninsula Clarion newspaper in Kenai, a Sterling man, 42, refused to pay his taxi cab fare after reaching his destination. However, he offered to settle the bill by giving the driver some prescription Valium. He was arrested for reckless endangerment and lodged at Wildwood Pre-Trial Facility.

Last month, Palmer police arrested a 43-year-old man for driving while under the influence of alcohol. Nothing out of the ordinary -- except that the man was driving a backhoe.

Three cars were stolen in Anchorage the morning of Nov. 12 following the season's first snowfall. In each case, the owner left the vehicle running to warm up while they went back inside their home. Alaska State Troopers issued a warning that should be common sense, but evidently needs saying: "Leaving a car running unattended is an invitation for someone to hop in it and drive away." The good news? Troopers described the three stolen vehicles as "beaters."