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Man drives away from jail in cop car

BRAINERD, Minn., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A Minnesota man just released from a detox center stole an undercover deputy's car for the trip home, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department alleges.

Christopher Wayne Schwarz, 20, was re-arrested after a chase that lasted less than half an hour, the Brainerd Dispatch reported Thursday. He faces charges of fleeing a peace officer and motor vehicle theft.

"If you want to make a quick trip back to jail, that would be the way to do it," Sheriff Todd Dahl said. "You always read about something like this happening somewhere else, or see it on television, but you'd never think it would happen here."

Schwarz was originally arrested early Wednesday at the county detox center. Dahl said staffers called police for help getting him into a seclusion room. He was released in mid-afternoon.

Dahl said that someone had left the keys in the ignition of the car that Schwarz used for his getaway.

Dutch poll: 'Cried' top funeral jam

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A Dutch funeral company said its survey indicates "Cried for You" by Katie Melua is the top pick for funeral songs in the country.

Yarden Funeral Directors said the song was the top choice of of 250 suggested on its Web site in an online poll of 6,000 people in the Netherlands, Radio Netherlands reported Thursday.

The company said 30 percent of respondents chose Dutch-language songs, with recording artists Mathilde Santing and Robert Long having songs among the top five in the survey.

Yarden said the survey also revealed a shift in musical choices for funerals with a significant number of respondents choosing heavy metal and dance songs.

7 years jail for underwear-clad robber

HARTFORD, Wis., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A Hartford, Wis., man convicted of robbing a convenience store and fleeing in his underpants has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Patrick Bishop, 28, was sentenced by Washington County Circuit Judge David Resheske to seven years in prison followed by five months of extended supervision after he pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery with threat of force in September, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Thursday.

The criminal complaint against Bishop said he had entered the convenience store with a toy gun July 8. He shed his coveralls after leaving the store and fled on a bicycle with hundreds of stolen dollars stuffed into his underwear.

District Attorney Todd Martens said Bishop had told the court at an earlier hearing that he committed the crime to obtain money for cocaine.

Judge allows perfume sensitivity suit

DETROIT, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A federal judge has allowed a Detroit city employee's lawsuit alleging her co-worker's perfume impaired her breathing.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff wrote in his ruling, which was released Tuesday, that city of Detroit planner Susan McBride "has produced evidence that her breathing is significantly restricted" by the perfume, making her job difficult to perform, The Detroit News reported Thursday.

Lawyers for the city had attempted to convince the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"(Zatkoff) recognizes that this is the type of claim that's viable," said Ann Curry Thompson, McBride's attorney. "These are types of claims that in many jurisdictions ... are sort of pooh-poohed and are not taken seriously."

Grant Ha, a lawyer representing the city, said in a June court filing seeking the dismissal of the suit that "there is no medical diagnosis of the alleged condition" and the plaintiff "is not disabled because she is not substantially impaired in a major life activity."

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