Police (Off)Beat | Abandoned pets stolen or liberated

• A Buford woman was charged with disorderly conduct after police observed her crawling under her husband's truck and yelling "get my son out of there!" Police told the woman her son was not under the truck, but safely incarcerated at the Gwinnett jail. The husband told police his wife was a little out of sorts because she had somehow got ahold of some methamphetamine. The woman was handcuffed and taken to a hospital and was eventually determined not to be a threat to herself or the public. The woman told police she had never taken meth before and did not plan to take it again.
• Marriage is tough enough without an angry, anonymous caller telling you he has slept with your wife and wants to kill you. A Norcross wife admitted to police she dated "a little on the side" but was no longer seeing anyone. The husband said he, his wife and his brother had been receiving threatening messages for some time, but this time the angry caller said he was going to drive over and "shoot everyone in the house."
• If you steal something no one wants and is a burden to the taxpayer, is it still a crime? Apparently so. Athens police said freed pets were taken from the Athens-Clarke County animal control facilities. A Chihuahua and Labrador are missing, but a third dog removed from his cage was found on the grounds. Police are looking for an animal liberator with a goatee, an old Honda, and hopefully a fenced-in yard.
• A Dacula woman told police someone was using her debit card without her permission. The woman said she had agreed to purchase a 2009 Toyota Camry from a Nigerian man for $22,000. She gave the man her debit card number and paid for the car, but it was never shipped from the African nation, she said. The man also withdrew money for other, unrelated purchases, the woman told police. The report said the victim plans to visit Nigeria and file a police report there too. While there, I am hoping she can track down my long-lost uncle who has left me a large inheritance.
• Love is blind, or at least very confused. A man "smelling like alcohol" was arrested for disorderly conduct after knocking on several doors at a Lawrenceville apartment complex. The young man told police he had been at a party and was having trouble finding his girlfriend's home. No one at the complex knew the man or his girlfriend.
• Criminal metallurgists must be running out of manholes. The Marietta Police Department says firefighters in the metro area are reporting the theft of fire hose connections outside of buildings that are needed to shoot water through sprinkler systems.
• How not to win a woman back: An Athens man kicked the window out of a police car after being arrested for stalking his ex-girlfriend. He no longer has a girlfriend but does get a free lawyer to help him face charges of aggravated stalking, violation of a family violence order and interference with government property.
• Drinking and driving results in spilt beer, injuries: A tractor-trailer driver struck a car at the intersection of Camp Creek Parkway and Stone Road in Atlanta. The driver of the mini-van that was hit told police the other driver jumped out of the truck and scampered away from the scene. Police found the truck engine still running and a spilled malt beverage on the floor. Police also found the man's company-supplied phone. There's a good chance he won't get that back.

Reporters Christian Boone, Alexis Stevens and Larry Hartstein contributed to this column.