Jewelry-shop owner Greg Olson thought the watch looked familiar.
A very similar $28,000 Rolex (search) had been stolen three months ago from his boat on a northern Minnesota lake, reports The Forum of Fargo, N.D.
So when Todd Charles Schornack, 21, left the watch for appraisal Saturday at Royal Jewelers in Fargo, Olson figured he'd check the serial number to be sure.
Olson hadn't seen his Rolex since Sept. 10, when it vanished from his boat docked in Detroit Lakes, Minn., about 40 miles east of Fargo.
He'd already been tipped off by his employees, who thought Schornack's tale that he'd inherited the watch from his father, who had gotten it from his own father, sounded suspicious. The watch was made in 1995.
Sure enough, the Rolex's serial number matched the one on Olson's 1997 purchase certificate.
Police were waiting for Schornack when he came back for the watch later Saturday. On Monday, he was charged with felony possession of stolen property.
According to the police report, Schornack, of New York Mills, Minn., told cops he'd found the Rolex in a boat on the lake.
"Schornack said that had he known the watch was worth so much, he would have brought it back to Olson," wrote the reporting officer.
— Thanks to Out There reader Rob M.
Des Moines, Iowa, police responded to an unusual call about public intoxication Saturday.
Instead of the usual whiskey, wine or beer, this drunk's choice of poison was mouthwash, reports the Des Moines Register.
In fact, he'd just drunk two bottles, and was still holding one clearly marked "Do not swallow."
Accordingly, an ambulance was called, but the medics who showed up seemed to know the man and told police he'd been drinking mouthwash constantly for at least 10 years.
"He was friendly and cooperative, just not doing so well walking," said Officer Robert Hoelscher.
Normally, a mouthwash drinker would need to go to the hospital, police said, but the man's body had gotten used to the green stuff and he checked out okay.
Police declined to charge the man or give him a breath test.
"He had good breath, though," added Hoelscher.
Dog Gets Head Stuck in Wheel Rim
WACO, Texas (AP) — It took the Jaws of Life and a veterinarian, but Cinnamon the Boston terrier is no longer stuck in a tire.
Last Tuesday, Wayne Hyde saw his 10-month-old dog's rear quarters sticking in the air, her head plugged into the center rim of a full-size tire.
Trudy Dillinger, Hyde's girlfriend, tried using Vaseline to release the 17-pound dog's head, which seemed bigger than the 4-inch-diameter ring around her neck.
Dillinger called the Bellmead, Texas, Fire Department. Firefighters tried to cut the tire rim with a handheld metal saw, but they stopped to avoid accidentally hurting the dog.
Then they used their most serious extraction device, a rescue tool called the Jaws of Life, which uses hydraulic power to pry apart or slice open cars when accident victims are stuck.
The firefighters cut the center of the rim out of the tire, then took Cinnamon and her heavy metal collar to the La Vega Veterinary Clinic (search) in nearby Waco.
"These are things you don't learn about in fire academy at all," Fire Marshall Scott Curry told the Waco Tribune-Herald.
The vets used an anesthetic to relax Cinnamon's muscles and coated her neck and ears in a lubricant.
"The rim looked like it weighed more than the dog," veterinarian Tamra Walthall said. "It looked like a steel Elizabethan collar on her neck."
The dog's head eventually popped out of the ring. She was no worse for the wear, other than a little bruising and swelling around the neck, Walthall said.
Hyde, a 61-year-old plumbing and utility contractor, praised the firefighters and vowed to keep tires out of his back yard.
"There was just that one, and it's not there anymore," he said. "As a matter of fact, it's all in pieces."
— Thanks to Out There reader Matt W.
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Eleven people directed to the wrong courtroom in the Seminole County Courthouse were arrested and jailed when they didn't appear before the proper judge, who was in an adjoining courtroom less than 100 feet away.
The six men and five women spent eight hours Friday in a Seminole County Jail cell before everything was straightened out.
"I'm hungry, I'm tired and I'm disgusted," said Frantarshia Coleman, after she was released from jail. "This is ridiculous. This is disgusting."
Coleman, 33, of Orlando was in court on a ticket for not having her registration and proof of insurance. She had a wrinkled, yellow traffic ticket indicating her hearing was in Courtroom 1B. She and the others were supposed to be in 1A.
When they didn't show up in 1A, Seminole County Judge John R. Sloop signed warrants for their arrests.
By the time the 11 finally discovered that they had been misdirected by court personnel and asked to appear before the judge to explain what had happened, he would not see them and ordered their arrests.
Later in the day, Sloop signed paperwork allowing them to be released without having to pay bail. It is unclear why Sloop reversed his decision.
About the time that Sloop was reversing himself, Circuit Judge James Perry, chief judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit, took similar action to make sure the 11 would be released.
"When I was made aware of this, I tried to reach Judge Sloop," Perry said. "When I was unable to reach him, I took steps to make sure they were released on their own recognizance."
Perry would not discuss Sloop's handling of the case or whether he planned to speak about it to Sloop. When asked, Perry said he would not have handled the issue the same way as Sloop.
The courthouse was closed Saturday and its phone number did not accept messages.
Church Implodes After Sunday Service
CINCINNATI (AP) — The walls of a church fell about 90 minutes after the last of Sunday's worshippers left, causing the roof to drop onto the pews and pulpit, officials said.
Pastor Carl McMullen and his family were the last to leave the Zion Hill Baptist Church (search) at 1:40 p.m. Sunday and got the call about the collapse an hour and a half later. About 50 people had attended Sunday's service.
"Lord, have mercy — can you believe it?" said the pastor's wife, Debra McMullen. "It's just a blessing that no one was inside."
The church sometimes has afternoon services and lunch, but not on Sunday.
Fire District Chief Anson Turley said he did not see steel reinforcements within the building's cinder blocks. Members who noticed some ceiling tiles had fallen said they talked about calling the city's buildings and inspections department Monday.
"God must be telling us it's time to move," said Jerry Givens, a member for 30 years. "And that's what we'll do."
Fake Win Followed by the Real Thing
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A man who went to prison three years ago for claiming that he was robbed of Romania's biggest ever lottery prize has won a new lottery jackpot — this time for real.
Stancu Ogica, a 35-year-old former professional soccer player, claimed in 2001 that he had won a $1 million jackpot but was attacked and robbers stole his winning ticket in the lobby of his apartment building in the capital, Bucharest.
Another man later came forward and claimed the prize.
Ogica was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted fraud and making false statements to the police. His story later became the subject of a film.
On Nov. 30, he said he had won in the previous Sunday's draw the sum of about $34,500.
Although excited about his new winnings, Ogica still insisted to news television Realitatea TV that he had won the larger 2001 jackpot
He has appealed to the government to re-examine his case, claiming that evidence went missing before his trial.
"Last time luck was on my side but I couldn't enjoy it," he told the television station.
In 2001, Ogica passed a lie detector test and brought several witnesses claiming to have seen the ticket.
Ogica's past record of insurance fraud and financial problems made police skeptical of his claims in 2001.
The average monthly salary in Romania is about $180.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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