Hide Article Text (OCR)
Noman finds a burglar, not Santa Claus, stuck in chimneySy MARK EVJEAssociated Press WriterOCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) — So low does Santa Clans get down hose chimneys? Prank Morales ried it and got stuck — upside lown, his head and hands dangling nside the fireplace of a stranger’s louse.“It was hilarious,” said bomeow-ave the Earthirks. GroupOne of President-elect Clinton’s most powerful campaign themes was :hange. This call was particularly poignant, it seems to me, because it’s now clear to the American people that our society must change to protect our educational system, our economy, our environment, our health-care system, etc.However, while Americans expect leadership from Washington, we also recognize that real changener 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-old 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 realized (the voice) wasn’t coming from the door,” Mrs, Beavers said.“I yelled, ‘Where are you? 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, Tm 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 inside of the fireplace to free Morales.“Instead of thanking them, (Morales) became uncooperative and combative,” said police Sgt. Reggie Grigsby. “He had to be subdued and taken into custody.”“It wasn’t funny until the police got here, then it was real funny,”Mrs Rpauprs sal d.“I think all the police officers who were 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. “Almost every house on our block has a chimney,” Mrs. Beavers said.The couple also can’t figure outhow Morales reached the top of the chimney in the first place, she added, because the opening is about 6 feet above the roof. Prom 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 arrestanH sfif’/vnd-dp'PTftA hurirlarv.
Newspaper Details
Gettysburg Times
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, Jan 08, 1993
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Heather W.
MO, USA 21 Dec 2022
Other Publications Near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Times
Gettysburg Star and Republican Banner
Republican Banner
Gettysburg Gazette
Gettysburg Compiler
