Arrested Man Goes to Extremes to Try to Make Son's Party

An odd story out of Chicago: Prosecutors say a 33-year-old didn't just chew his way through a police car's seat belt—they allege Lashon Stuckey did so in an attempt to make it to his son’s birthday party. Stuckey was picked up last Monday after police say they saw him selling $30 worth of heroin on the 200 block of South Western Avenue; NBC Chicago reports he allegedly had several bags of the drug on him. It's a bit unclear which charges followed: NBC Chicago reports he was hit with two counts of possession of a controlled substance; DNAInfo reports he was charged with delivery of a controlled substance. Either way, the charges could have ended there, but didn't.

When police put him in the squad car, Stuckey allegedly gnawed on his seat belt until he successfully chewed through it. Officers say Stuckey told them that he did not want to miss his son’s birthday, and it appears the seat belt was the first obstacle on his road to potential freedom. He was handed an additional count of criminal damage to property and is being held in lieu of posting $75,000 bail. Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti estimated the damage to the seat belt at several hundred dollars, DNAInfo notes. (More weird crimes stories.)