Tulsa penguin theft sends two to jail

Thursday, December 26th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A penguin prank landed a couple of holiday visitors from California in jail. Tulsa Police say they got a tip from a caller who saw a pickup truck in the Brookside area with a large penguin in the back of it.

That person followed the truck to a Tulsa home near 35th and Rockford, and later the police found the penguin in the backyard. Tulsa Police Cpl John Lemelle, "One of the gentlemen went to school with the lady that lives here, and called her up and said 'Hey, we're coming over to visit, when they showed up they had the penguin and of course she was not too happy about that."

The penguin has a couple of bumps, one to the beak and one to the tail. The penguin was returned to its post at the "In The Raw" restaurant at 34th and Peoria.

The two suspects spent Christmas in jail.