Etc...

We take a bite out of crime

There may be some calls that police respond to more diligently than others. You probably can imagine examples of both. But here's one the cops wasted no time in answering. The scene: Kennewick, Wash., one day late last week. Bakery truck driver Gilberto Gonzalez had just made one of the stops on his route, a convenience store. But he left the engine running, and while he was still inside, a fellow in his late teens commandeered the vehicle and took off. Moments later, the theft was reported and an all-points bulletin was issued. Happily for the police, not only did the van bear the name of Gonzalez's employer, but a store employee also had seen the culprit loitering outside and remembered that he'd asked about transportation to nearby Richland. Armed with all that detail, Richland's police tracked down the truck, stopped it, and arrested the driver. "To steal a bakery truck: How clever is that?" a spokesman for the force mused afterward. As for Gonzalez, he was lectured on taking the ignition key with him from now on when stopping to make a delivery. Oh, the stock that was in the truck at the time of the heist? Doughnuts. No word on whether the cops were rewarded with any for their fast work.