Two New Jersey men who thought it would be a cool idea to climb into a state constable's van parked in Radnor and take pictures of themselves are now on the wrong side of the law.
Radnor police arrested Jeffrey Olson, 22, and Ryan Letchford, 21, both of Marlton, at 3:57 a.m. Monday after a buddy called authorities saying his two pals had left a party an hour earlier and were locked inside the van nearby.
The vehicle was parked outside a condominium in the 1000 block of East Lancaster Avenue in Rosemont, the buddy told police.
A catch with these vans is that they lock automatically behind someone getting in. The Jersey fellows apparently were unaware of that detail.
"It's the same as a police car," said Cpl. Kevin Gallagher. "You can get in, but you can't get out."
Asked whether the two were taken away in the van they so wanted to see, Gallagher said, "Not that one."
Instead, they went by police cruiser to the lockup in Wayne.
The men were in the back section of the vehicle and damaged the center partition between that and the driver's compartment as they tried to kick their way out, Gallagher said. It was not clear how they got in.
The charges the pair face include public drunkenness and criminal mischief.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service