Might as Well Turn on the Siren

Ever want to take a cop car for a joyride? A San Francisco man did just that, complete with screaming siren and flashing lights.

Wayne H. Reagan, 48, allegedly stole a San Francisco sheriff's deputy's cruiser last Wednesday afternoon after a woman flagged down the deputy.

The deputy had parked the car and taken the ignition key, sheriff's spokeswoman Eileen Hirst told KTVU-TV, but Reagan somehow managed to get the unlocked green-and-white cruiser started.

As the deputy and the woman stood talking, Reagan, out on parole for an unspecified offense, allegedly drove right by.

For the next 20 minutes, he drove around the Potrero Hill (search) neighborhood, getting the attention of passers-by with the noise and lights.

Finally, he cruised in front of the Bayview station of the San Francisco Police Department (search). Officers, already alerted by the suddenly pedestrian sheriff's deputy, quickly set up a roadblock and snared Reagan.

He was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, evading police, resisting arrest and theft of an official car, and was given a psychiatric evaluation.

"We will be reviewing this incident to make sure it's the last time it happens," said Hirst.

— Thanks to Out There reader Don W.

Clammer Digs Up Lost Wedding Ring

BRANFORD, Conn. (AP) — An 82-year-old man who went clamming in Long Island Sound (search) says he made the ultimate catch: the wedding ring he lost two years ago.

Stewart Petrie says he found an encrusted ring mixed in with his clams last Tuesday while he was clamming at the same spot where his ring slipped off his finger in July 2003.

After his wife, Mary, scrubbed it with jewelry cleaner, they were able to read the inscription: "MPS to SJP 9-10-67." Her husband's eyes began to tear, she said.

"It was an absolutely stupendous feeling," Stewart Petrie said.

The couple married after meeting at a hospital where he was a doctor and she worked as a nurse.

The Petries say they eventually plan to have a jeweler restore the ring. But in the meantime, it isn't leaving his finger.

"I treasure that ring," he said.

— Thanks to Out There reader Kris P.

What Do Lifeguards Do When Summer Ends? Nothing

LONGPORT, N.J. (AP) — Officials in this shore town are fighting a policy that lets lifeguards collect unemployment benefits after the summer ends.

City officials say lifeguards are seasonal employees who aren't entitled to unemployment. The lifeguards say they've been getting the benefits for years.

Longport officials took the issue to the New Jersey Labor Department (search), but the department upheld benefits for two of the lifeguards and referred a third case for investigation.

"They don't have to save anybody in the winter. Nobody's swimming," said Sen. Leonard Connors Jr., R-Ocean. "They're off for 42 weeks and then they collect? I don't think that's what unemployment is designed for."

Longport officials said the three lifeguards didn't actively seek work last winter.

One of them, Joseph Walsh, 26, said he and the other lifeguards did look for work, but they needed the benefits to get through winter.

However, Walsh, a film major from Temple University (search), added that he and the other guards shouldn't be expected to work for minimum wage over the winter.

"I didn't go to Temple University to work at [Northeastern convenience-store chain] Wawa," he told The Press of Atlantic City.

The three lifeguards collected a total of about $11,000 in benefits, part of which was paid by Longport.

Whoops, Sorry, Wrong Car

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Albany firefighters were tearing apart a minivan as part of a training exercise when someone noticed the personal items inside. That's when they realized they had trashed the wrong vehicle.

This week, Albany officials approved the city's share of the $12,000 bill for the 2002 Dodge Caravan that was mistakenly ripped open during a drill at a junk yard a year ago.

Officials say the firefighters routinely practice accident scene rescue techniques by tearing open donated junked cars. In June 2004, they were supposed to practice on an older vehicle located in another part of the junk yard.

Instead, they used the Jaws of Life to tear open a three-year-old minivan that was there to undergo repairs.

The owner of the junk yard admitted its role in the mistake and is splitting the cost of the van with the fire department.

Dress for Success, Even in Court

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Clothes may not make the man but they do make an impression. And if witnesses and defendants aren't dressed properly in front of some northwestern Arkansas judges, they could find themselves in contempt of court.

Once a man testified in a battery case in Rogers Municipal Court, wearing a shirt that asked on the front: "Wanna raise some hell?" The back read: "Hell yeah!"

Judge Doug Schrantz found him in contempt of court after learning the man had another shirt he could have worn. Circuit Judge Tom Keith upheld Schrantz' decision and sentenced the man to 24 hours in jail.

Keith said suits and ties aren't required, but a full set of clothing — clean — is expected. He does not want men wearing earrings or any piercings on the eye, nose or lip.

Circuit Judge David Clinger said he doesn't expect people to wear tuxedos, but said there is a middle ground.

Lawyers advise their clients to come to court in proper attire so judges will concentrate on the facts of the case and not be distracted by someone in shorts, or a beer T-shirt or a skimpy outfit.

"Some I have to take under my wings and explain what's expected of them," defense lawyer Greg Clark said. "Especially in divorce cases. It may be the only time they appear before the judge, and if they are dressed like a bum, then their [credibility] may be that of a bum. "

If jail is an option, don't wear a T-shirt advertising beer; if a woman is seeking custody of a child, a revealing outfit won't help, Clark said.

Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.

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