A family in northern Ohio says a man trying to break into their home left behind a trail of blood after meeting their dog at the front door.

The family in Port Clinton says they were home when their 11-year-old pit bull named Mamma heard something at the door and began growling.

Tony Byrd Jr. tells The Blade newspaper in Toledo he heard screaming coming from the front of the house that Sunday night and came out to see the would-be burglar shutting the door and running to a car.

Byrd says he then saw a blood trail in the snow.

He says their dog normally is playful and that she must have sensed something dangerous about the man.

Police were asking hospitals to watch for anyone seeking treatment for dog bites.


Too Much Time on His Hands 

A northeast Ohio couple who reported a break-in say the burglar apparently was in no hurry because he or she took time to feed their dog bologna, make a pot of coffee and smoke some cigarettes.

WKBN-TV in Youngstown says the couple from Newton Falls reported that their home was ransacked after they were picked up by police on an outstanding warrant earlier that week. Prescription drugs were stolen, along with a video game console, a DVD player and dozens of movies.

WFMJ-TV reports police determined that someone pried open a side door and that, as the police report put it, the intruder “was comfortable while they were there.”

One of the residents suggested a possible suspect. Newton Falls police were investigating.


Of All the Dumb Cluck 

Hueytown, Alabama police say a door-to-door salesman dressed in a chicken suit has been arrested on an outstanding warrant.

Chief Chuck Hagler says 40-year-old Brian Eades was arrested on a Jefferson County sheriff’s warrant for assault one Tuesday after neighbors complained about unpermitted solicitors in their area.

Police say a second man, 58-year-old Michael Bratton, was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of a controlled substance. Hagler says Bratton was with Eades, but wasn’t wearing a chicken suit. Police say the men were soliciting for a tax preparation service and are being held in the county jail. It’s unclear if they have attorneys.

Hagler says Hueytown has had ongoing problems with unpermitted door-to-door salespeople and homeowners should never assume that companies screen door-to-door salespeople for criminal histories.


Mr. Sandman, Send Me a Scheme 

Officials say a Florida man suspected of stealing a car took off on foot from a traffic stop and briefly eluded deputies while he grabbed a nap under a nearby trailer.

The Pensacola News Journal reports that deputies followed the sound of 37-year-old Kevin Lee Barbour’s snoring — described as a “snorting wild boar” — to discover him that Sunday night in Santa Rose County.

Officials say deputies tried to stop Lee, of Pensacola, after noticing his vehicle didn’t have tag lights. They say that when the deputy activated his siren, Barbour pulled off the road and ran.

The deputy followed but eventually lost sight of Barbour.

He was in the Santa Rosa County Jail the following Tuesday, accused of driving with a suspended license, vehicle theft and resisting an officer.

Source: Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com


Would You Like Cops with Your Biscuits? 

Police arrested a western Pennsylvania bank robbery suspect when he stopped for chicken and biscuits at a restaurant two blocks away.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 32-year-old Shane Lindsey, who was arrested that Wednesday about 20 minutes after he allegedly robbed the Citizens Bank in downtown New Kensington.

Police tell the (Tarentum) Valley News Dispatch that witnesses saw a bald man matching Lindsey’s description run toward a restaurant after the heist. Police knew the business had surveillance video and went inside to view it hoping for clues as to where the suspect went — only to find Lindsey eating at a booth.

Police say the video showed the suspect running past the restaurant and then pausing before coming back and going inside.

Source: Valley News Dispatch, http://www.valleynewsdispatch.com