Odd news 10/23

Pet owners seek grooming for their rats

LA VERNE, Calif. -- Grooming isn't just for dogs anymore, and many pet owners are bringing in their rats to groomers like Karri Garrison, who uses waterless shampoo to make their coats shine and smell sweet. Customers at Katie's Pet Depot in La Verne, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, began requesting rat grooming soon after the store opened nearly two years ago. "We need to be there for all our clients," Garrison said. "I think we might be the only place around that grooms rats." The $10 treatment includes claw clipping, spraying with waterless shampoo, and using a product that kills fleas and mites. The store's services also include grooming guinea pigs, mice and rabbits.

Norwegian to test fish diet as crime fighter

OSLO, Norway -- Can fatty fish fight crime? Norwegian researcher Anita Lill Hansen wants to know if there's a connection between eating oily fish and controlling violent outbursts. Hansen is planning a study that involves giving a fish-heavy diet to prisoners who volunteer for the project, the ANB news agency reported Friday. "A lot of crimes are committed on impulse," Leif Waage, a prison service spokesman, told ANB. If fatty oil found in fish "has a positive effect on people's impulse control, we hope it could result in a reduction in crime."

Man busted for allegedly stealing 342 bras

GREENWICH, Conn. -- Two off-duty police officers thought something was amiss when they saw a man hiding behind parked cars and carrying a J.C. Penney bag. There's no J.C. Penney near upscale Greenwich, so the officers stopped Ricardo Salazar and searched his van, where they found 342 bras that had allegedly been stolen from Victoria's Secret. The bras, worth $14,135, were different colors and sizes and cost between $32 and $50 each. Police say Salazar, 25, of Elmhurst, N.Y., is also accused of stealing $856 worth of sleepwear from Victoria's Secret and more than $5,000 worth of shoes from Shoes-n-More. Salazar faces first-degree larceny charges and was being held on $50,000 bond.

Corpse involved in Mexico motorcycle crash

MEXICO CITY -- Police discovered on Friday that a passenger on a motorcycle involved in an accident in the rough Mexican border city of Tijuana was in fact a corpse that the driver had been carrying strapped to his back. The motorcycle driver lost control and skidded in the downtown area and when a policeman approached to investigate the mishap, the driver fled. The police officer checked the passenger, who had been seated behind the driver, and found it was the corpse of a man who had died some time before.

-- From wire reports

Fairway fracas leads golfer to pull out a gun

CHINO, Calif. -- An Orange County sheriff's reserve deputy was ordered to trial for allegedly pulling a gun on two slow-playing golfers at Los Serranos Golf & Country Club. Witnesses said Raymond Yi, 44, pointed a gun at the golfers and flashed his sheriff's badge during the July incident. Golfer Marcelo Bautista, 35, was playing on the course with his uncle Gustavo Resendiz. Bautista said Yi had hit two balls toward the men and at the 14th hole Bautista hit Yi's ball back toward him. According to Bautista, Yi confronted him, left the fairway and returned with a badge and pointed a gun to his head.