Another Would-Be Criminal Caught in the Act

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Workers arriving last month at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Bolivar, Mo., found a would-be prowler stuck in the air vent, his legs dangling on top of the roof, police told the News-Leader.

"He couldn't go backwards and he couldn't go forward," Bolivar Police Chief Michael Seibert told the paper. "You had to see it. It was quite intriguing."

Officers found tools such as a crowbar and pliers in his bag, and estimated Jason Bibeau, 23, had been dangling for 1½ to two hours before they found him and had the Bolivar Fire Department pull him out.

Bibeau told Bolivar cops he got up on the roof by putting a PVC pipe against the building and climbing it, according to a probable-cause affidavit. He then "ripped out a vent," tried to climb through it and got wedged.

"The guy was basically goofy," Seibert told the News-Leader. "He was like Santa Claus stuck in the chimney."

Police charged Bibeau with first-degree property damage and second-degree burglary