Pet Parrot Helps Police Arrest Men

Sun., May 26, 1996

From Staff And Wire Reports

Two men were being held in the Spokane County Jail Saturday afternoon on theft charges after a pet parrot helped police finger them.

Christopher P. Hudgins, 18, and Dana William Foster, 37, are accused of making a copy of a car’s ignition key during a test drive and later stealing the car.

One of the men reportedly carried a parrot on his shoulder while they had the key duplicated at a hardware store. When police questioned Foster at his 1804 E. Pacific apartment, they noticed a parrot in his living room.

Hudgins reportedly first told police he and Foster had test driven a 1985 Chevy Sprint on May 17 and returned the car to its owner.

Police then questioned a clerk at an Ernst store who remembered copying a key for the two because one of them had a parrot with him.

After police found a parrot in Foster’s living room, Hudgins and Foster admitted making the duplicate key and stealing the car, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

Hudgins, who gave his address as 1218 W. Carlisle, and Foster were booked into jail on first-degree theft charges.

Police found the car hidden among trees a mile north of Highway 291 near Swenson Road and returned it to its owner.

, DataTimes

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