PAINSESVILLE, Ohio — Steven Thompson's disorderly conduct landed him in a public sty.

Thompson, 44, had two options when he appeared in court last week to plead guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct. He could serve three days in jail or stand in a pen for two hours on a city sidewalk next to a 350-pound pig with a sign reading, "This is not a police officer." Thompson picked the latter and served his sentence on Feb. 8 in front of a jovial lunchtime crowd that included his teenage daughter and several friends, according to a Painesville police department spokesman.

The disorderly conduct charge stemmed from a Jan. 28 confrontation with a city police officer during which Thompson used the word "pig" amid an array of obscenities. The altercation took place when the officer was completing a disturbance report in his patrol car.

Some criticized Judge Michael Cicconetti, saying the unconventional sentence was a publicity stunt, and even arguing that Thompson's First Amendment rights were violated. But the judge, known for his creative sentencing for misdemeanors, said that Thompson was charged for being disorderly, not for his speech.

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. — A man who called police to brag that he couldn't be caught was arrested while still on the phone.

Michael LaRock, 22, was recently arrested in Georgia after a year on the lam on burglary charges. LaRock had been indicted for stealing from a motel room in Essex County, N.Y., in January 2001, but shortly after fled the area, according to Ticonderoga police officer Daniel Charlton.

On Jan. 22, authorities say LaRock called the Ticonderoga police and boasted that he would never be caught. LaRock told police to give up looking for him and to stop bothering his family near Massena, a town near the Canadian border. LaRock would call and then hang up within three minutes, saying he knew how the system worked and how numbers can be traced, according to Charlton.

But LaRock miscalculated.

Police were almost immediately able to track LaRock to an Auburn, Ga., address through a caller identification system. Charlton contacted the Auburn police department and notified them of the suspect. LaRock then called police back.

"I was on the phone with him when I heard the doorbell ring," Charlton told Court TV. "He got up to answer it and then I heard a scuffle. It was the police. He was arrested right there after a short chase." Charlton and another officer drove down to Georgia on Jan. 31 to bring LaRock back to Essex County.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — Bare she goes!

A Florida woman is in custody after she allegedly paraded naked in downtown Burlington and then stole the cruiser of the responding police officer.

The sequence of events began at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 5 when Cpl. J.W. Snow responded to a call about a suspicious woman attempting to get into cars outside a local convenience store. When he arrived, Cpl. Snow found Joy Lynn Tedesco, totally nude in 22-degree weather, trying to flag down motorists. The officer immediately directed Tedesco into the backseat of the cruiser to get her out of the cold and proceeded to get a blanket from the trunk, according to Maj. Randy Jones of the Burlington police department.

But as Cpl. Snow walked toward the back of his cruiser, Tedesco managed to squeeze through the plastic shield separating the front and back seats and drove off. Cpl. Snow had opened the shield to allow heat to get through.

After a four-minute chase that reached speeds of 60 mph, authorities were able to corner Tedesco in a parking lot and apprehend her. During the pursuit, Tedesco rammed a cruiser, causing $400 in damage, Jones told Court TV.

Tedesco, 33, faces numerous charges, including car theft, speeding to elude arrest, driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license and assaulting a police officer. At the station, police found Tedesco clutching onto a crack pipe. Her clothes were later recovered on the steps of a boarding house near where she was originally picked up.