Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Cheese triggers false drug-test results

Authorities in Asheville, N.C. said that an enzyme found in cheese triggered false drug test results that led North Carolina deputies to think a man with 91 pounds of tortilla dough was actually carrying that much cocaine, the sheriff said.

Antonio Hernandez spent four days in an Asheville jail this month before tests by a state lab showed he was carrying food, not drugs.

A Buncombe County deputy stopped Hernandez on May 1 and found what turned out to be a mix of cheese, shrimp and tortilla and tamale dough in his truck. A portable kit used by deputies changed colors, indicating the mixture was illegal drugs.

Sheriff Van Duncan said he didn't know until this case that some foods, like cheese, can give false positives on field drug tests. He plans to have deputies talk to the company that makes the tests.

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Man lied to boss about wife’s cancer for money

If you’re going to extort money from your employer by saying your wife died from cancer, make sure she doesn’t get the card at home expressing condolences on her death.

That’s what Hudson police say happened in the case of Scott Wellington, a 31-year-old Greenville man, who is facing two counts of theft by deception for allegedly telling his employer, C&M Machine Products in Hudson, that his wife was seriously ill with cancer with the intent of getting money out of them.

After being told of his wife’s illness, the company donated $7,000 to the Wellington family.

According to police, Wellington then told his company his wife had died, prompting a sympathy card to be sent to their residence.

The jig was up when the wife received the card at their home. She called the authorities to let them know she was in fact still alive and never had cancer.

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Police arrest man who wanted to face his fear of being naked

Boise Police say 20-year-old Jonathan Palmer was walking in the area of 15th and Hill when they caught up with him. Lt. Kent Lipple says dispatchers received several calls from people saying they'd seen him.

Lipple says Palmer was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but rather, Palmer wanted to conquer his own fears and help the public conquer its fears too.

"He wanted to face his fear of being naked in public," Lipple said.

According to Lipple, Palmer told arresting officers: "I want the public to understand its okay to see a naked man walk down the road."

Lipple says the man was cooperative and articulate. Palmer was arrested on a misdemeanor public nudity charge.

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Man blames boredom for fake 911 calls

A Wisconsin man who claims boredom caused him to make hundreds of false 911 calls to authorities around the country will get his 15 minutes of fame.

Mason Seckar, 20, of Oshkosh, Wis., will appear on the TV show "Inside Edition," where it is expected he will discuss what drove him to routinely prank call authorities, mostly the St. John's County, Fla., sheriff's department, since January.

No charges have been filed against Seckar, who still maintains the calls were funny, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The FBI is investigating him and has learned he used Skype to disguise his phone number. Search warrants have been executed of his home.

The paper reported the TV show confirming Seckar made the calls because he was "bored."

Among the false reports that led deputies astray, it was reported Seckar called 911 to say he was shot on a motorcycle, that he was in a McDonald’s bathroom with his "5-year-old girlfriend" and that he wanted to become a teacher but was afraid he would molest his hypothetical, future students.

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