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A legally blind man beat up an intruder and held him at knifepoint until police arrived at the man's eastside home, authorities said. Allan Kieta, 49, told police he was at home Monday morning when his small dog began barking and he encountered the man.
"I opened the door and just ran into him. I had him pinned in the laundry room and just kept pummeling," said Kieta, a former wrestler in high school.
He said he grabbed the intruder by the belt and dragged him into the kitchen, where he put a knife at the man's throat and tried to dial 911.
"Being visually impaired, I couldn't get the buttons because I was using my left hand," he said. "It took me about 20 tries."
Police arrived within minutes and arrested Alvaro Castro, 25, on an initial charge of residential entry, Sgt. Matthew Mount said.
Lt. Jeff Duhamell was impressed with Kieta's feat.
"Its pretty remarkable for anyone thats blind to be able to defend themselves, let alone make an apprehension," Duhamell said. "To be able to grab this guy and hold him down until police got there is pretty remarkable."
Castro, who was initially taken to the Wishard Memorial Hospital detention facility, denied trying to burglarize the home and said he was a former boyfriend of Kieta's daughter and was trying to visit her, said Mount.
Kieta said Castro told him he was looking for his cat.
"I go, 'Your cat? You're in my house!'" Kieta recalled.
Castro was transferred to the Marion County Jail on Monday night.
Kieta said he suffered swollen hands and a sore back, but no serious injuries.
"When my wife was cleaning the blood off, she said, 'I think it's all his,'" Kieta said.
Police: Texas man trying to cash $360 billion check arrested
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Charles Ray Fuller must have been planning one big record company.
The 21-year-old North Texas man was arrested last week for trying to cash a $360 billion check, saying he wanted to start a record business, authorities said. Tellers at the Fort Worth bank were immediately suspicious — perhaps the 10 zeros on a personal check tipped them off, according to investigators.
Fuller, of suburban Crowley, was arrested on a forgery charge, police said. He was released after posting $3,750 bail.
Fuller said his girlfriend's mother gave him the check to start a record business, but bank employees who contacted the account's owner said the woman told them she did not give him permission to take or cash the check, according to police.
In addition to forgery, Fuller was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and possessing marijuana, Fort Worth police Lt. Paul Henderson said.
Officers reported finding less than 2 ounces of marijuana and a .25-caliber handgun and magazine in his pockets, police said.
Fuller couldn't be located for comment by The Associated Press on Friday because there were no phone listings for him in the Fort Worth area.
Subject : Woman, 75, gets phone call about her funeral arrangements
Posted Date: : May 2, 2008 11:01 PM
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Rose Griffin is not dead, so the call from someone trying to arrange her funeral was a bit of a shock. The Methuen woman got the call at a late hour Friday night from someone looking for her son, who was not there.
When an irate Griffin used her caller ID to call back, the man informed her he was a funeral director trying to make arrangements for her son's dead mother.
The 75-year-old Griffin told him: "You're talking to the dead person."
Joe Cataudella, co-owner of Cataudella Funeral Home, said someone played a "cruel prank" and left a message with the home's answering service that Griffin had died.
Griffin, a Wal-Mart greeter, joked that she expects to be around for some time because she's mean and only the good die young.
She says she has no idea who was behind the prank.
