Editorials

Naked burglar arrested 

EUGENE, Ore. — A naked burglar was arrested after his driver’s license was discovered in the pants he left at the scene of the crime, police said. 

The man sneaked into an apartment last Saturday, stripped off his clothes and crept into a sleeping woman’s bedroom, said Eugene police Sgt. Scott McKee. 

The woman awoke, saw the man and screamed, prompting her boyfriend to jump out of bed and give chase. 

The man got away, but police had the evidence they needed. 

“Thankfully it had his current address,” McKee said. 

David Spencer Clark Jr., 20, was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree burglary. 

Mr. Potato Head honored  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Islanders may soon have a chance to honor their hometown spud with license plates featuring Mr. Potato Head. 

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday to issue the plates in honor of the toy’s 50th birthday. Mr. Potato Head was created in 1952 by Pawtucket, R.I., toy maker Hasbro Inc. 

The plates would be available for two years only for an extra fee of $40. Half of the fee would go to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. 

Other states have issued special license plates to raise funds for groups such as scouts and cancer awareness, or to honor college alumni or football teams, according to a Senate note on the bill. 

“This is a nice combination of recognizing an icon unique to this state while raising money for a worthy local cause,” said Senate Majority Leader William Irons. 

Chicken bone handcuffs  

VENTURA, Calif. — Spencer Moss is as slippery as his name, according to deputies at the Ventura County Jail. 

The inmate has made handcuff keys out of chicken bones, tin foil and pieces of cloth, and concealed the contraband in his ears and his shoes before getting the opportunity to tackle the locks, they say. In two years, Moss has had 58 jail security violations. 

The jailhouse Houdini faces up to 12 years in prison for allegedly escaping his cell in the jail’s most secure section and locking two deputies inside it. The Jan. 24 episode was caught on videotape. He’s also charged with using a tightly wound piece of toilet paper to unlock his handcuffs and leg shackles while in court. 

Moss, 36, was captured before making it out of the jailhouse. 

His Superior Court trial on two counts of attempted escape and one count of battery on jail personnel started Wednesday, with Moss acting as his own attorney. 

Moss, handcuffed and shackled, decided against delivering an opening statement.