Add this stranger-than-fiction story to the annals of Weird NJ. From The Star Ledger:
A bruin with a sweet tooth smashed its way into a minivan in Vernon early this morning to gobble up a bag of Halloween candy inside, then took the vehicle for a "joyride," police said.An officer patrolling Highland Lakes at 2 a.m. found a 2004 Mazda minivan parked on a road shoulder with a front passenger side window smashed out.
The "obvious signs" that this was a bear burglary included paw prints, gobs of drool, claw marks and a large quantity of black bear hair, police said.
But this was no typical bear break-in.
The van was a stickshift, and the bear apparently dislodged the parking brake while noshing on leftover Halloween treats. The vehicle rolled out of a driveway and about 40 feet down the road before stopping, police said.Aside from drool and hair, all that was left were a bunch of empty candy wrappers inside and outside the van.
In a tongue-in-cheek press release titled, "Black Bear Goes For a Joyride," police also said that the patrolman "followed the candy wrapper trail into the woods, but was unable to locate the defendant black bear."
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Ugh! Not only is this bear a criminal, but more than likely after eating this volume of candy, he is OBESE!
Meme Roth would be outraged.