DATELINES

May 1, 2002 12:00 PM

Detroit — A 14-year-old boy was caught trying to smuggle an assault rifle into Pelham Magnet Middle School in his book bag. Two officers who observe students as they walk through the metal detector at the school entrance spotted a bundle in the boy's book bag. Police say he had the gun inside it. The student was arrested and automatically suspended pending a hearing. The student could end up being placed in an alternative school or expelled from the district. It is unclear why the boy brought the gun to school.

Phoenix — Puzzled federal agents are trying to discover who dug an 85-foot-long tunnel that started in Mexico, ran directly underneath a U.S. Customs Service parking lot in Southern Arizona, and that was believed used at least once to smuggle drugs into the U.S. The tunnel, complete with wood bracing and electricity illegally tapped from a Customs employee parking lot, was found by a sharp-eyed government security guard patrolling the area, said Roger Maier, a Customs Service spokesman. No drugs were located during an inspection of the tunnel but evidence suggested that the tunnel was used at least once to smuggle drugs. No arrests have been made.

North Platte, Neb. — Dents in a department store's false ceiling led police to 18-year-old Chad Ferguson, a burglar who was caught hiding in a ventilation duct at the store. Motion alarms alerted police that someone was somewhere inside the building. While a Nebraska State Patrol K-9 unit looked down during the search of the building, the officers looked up. That's when they noticed some of the ceiling tiles had been dented. Tiles were removed and the suspect was found almost four hours later, police said.

Shelton, Conn. — A group of teens videotaped themselves committing a series of burglaries, and commenting on the crimes, police said. “On the tape they identify each other by name and talk about what building they are going to rob next,” said Detective Sgt. Michael Madden. “They would be filming themselves driving to each location and saying, ‘We are going to do our robbin' here.’” Police obtained the tape from an informant. It solved eight burglaries.

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