Cops Catch Christmas Tree Crook

December 8, 2009

Cops in Portage, Indiana say they caught a Christmas tree thief late Friday trying to make a getaway — on a motorized bicycle. The Post-Tribune reports when police stopped 48-year-old Phillip Menefee for riding his bike at 1 a.m. with a Christmas tree balanced across his handlebars, he claimed he purchased it from a nearby lot. When officers informed Menefee the lot was closed, he allegedly changed his story and announced he bought the tree at a bar. Menefee apparently did buy something at the bar, but it wasn’t a tree. He was charged with public intoxication. He was also charged with theft after cops noticed the tree had a tag that showed it came from the closed lot.

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