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Sunday, June 23, 1996
Man stuck in vent arrested; says 'All I wanted
was a beer'
By Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - A San Antonio man in search of beer greased his
body with used cooking oil, then tried to slide through a rooftop
air vent into a closed convenience store, police said.
He almost made it.
Felix Rivera, 33, tripped the store's alarm early Friday after
he became stuck in the 2-foot-wide duct, his upper body wedged
in the vent, his legs dangling inside.
Only at the last moment before leaving and calling the burglar
call a false alarm did two officers hear Rivera whistle and call
for help.
After almost an hour and $1,000 in broken doors, locks and security
alarms later, eight firefighters managed to coach, pull and wiggle
Rivera to the ground, firefighter Dean Solis said.
"He walked up to me and said, 'Sorry, man. All I wanted was
a beer,' " said Joe Castellano, manager of the Pik Nik store.
He said Rivera was a regular customer who frequently chatted over
a cup of free coffee.
Instead of a stash of cold brew to quench his 12:45 a.m. craving
Friday, Rivera's beer run ended with an arrest and a trip to Bexar
County's cooler - and a headache.
"Because of the alarm, he was pretty deaf after he left,"
Castellano said. "I guess he got the scare of his life."
Rivera was charged with burglary. He remained jailed in lieu of
$10,000.
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