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This if an Oceanside, Calif., Police DepartmenilHE'S NO ELF -of alleged burglar Frank Morales, 42, stuck in the chimney at a res where he was arrested early Monday. He was bookedCalif., jail on charges of burglary and resisting arrest.By MARK EVJE Associated Press WriterOCEANSIDE, Calif. - So how does Santa Claus get down those chimneys? Frank Morales tried it and got stuck — upside down, his head and hands dangling inside the fireplace of a stranger's house.“It was hilarious, said homeowner Margie Beavers, 56. “If it hadn’t been so hilarious I would have been scared out of my wits.Morales landed at the bottom of the chimney, where his waist became wedged, with a loud thump and began hollering for help, awakening Mrs. Beavers and her 62-year-ola husband, Larry, shortly after 2 a.m. Monday. They thought it was someone at their front door.“I ran into the living room and was going to the door when I real* ized fthe voice) wasn’t coming from the door,” Mrs. Beavers said.“I yelled, Where are vou? Are you in my house?’ He said he was in my chimney, and then I said, What are you doing in there?’ and he said, I’m Santa Claus.’”Mrs. Beavers saw a man’s head and upper torso behind Christmas stockings still hanging from the mantle and called police.Officers summoned firefighters, who had to chip away part of the in* side of the fireplace to free Morales.“Instead of thanking them,(Morales) became uncooperative and combative,” said police Sgt.Reggie Gngsby. “He had to be subdued and taken into custody “It wasn’t funny until the police got here, then it was real funny,” Mrs. Beavers said.“I think all the police officers whowere here took a picture of it home with them. They all said it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. ” Before police arrived, Mrs.Beavers said the man told her that he “was running from people with guns who were trying to kill him and a whole bunch of other malarky. ”She said he was covered with soot. “He had on white tennis shoes, that's the only part of him that was clean,” she said.She said she didn't know why Morales chose their house. “Almostevery house on our block has a chimney, Mrs. Beavers said.The couple also can’t figure out how Morales reached the top of the chimney in the first place, she added, because the opening is about 6 feet above the roof. From there it's about a 12-foot drop to the bottom.“We’ve been married 40 years and we’ve had a lot of laughs and a lot of tears during that time,” Mrs. Beavers said. “But this is the strangest thing that’s ever happened.Morales, 42, was taken to Tri-City Medical Center for a checkup and then jailed in lieu of $7,000 bail for investigation of resisting arrest and second-degree burglary.
Newspaper Details
Kannapolis Daily Independent
Kannapolis, North Carolina, US
Wed, Jan 06, 1993
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Heather W.
MO, USA 21 Dec 2022
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Kannapolis Daily Independent
