Cup of Coffee Costs Man His Car

Early on the morning of Mar. 1, a driver pulled into the gas station on the corner of Nicollet Ave and 35th Street for what would prove to be a very expensive refreshment, according to a report filed by Minneapolis police officers.

It was just after 4 a.m. as the 31-year old pulled up to pump number two at the Super America and got out of his car. He strode across the apron to the station's convenience store, but left his car running—it was late, and he wanted a cup of coffee to ward off the pre-dawn darkness. He wouldn't be gone long.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a stranger walk in his direction with a funny gait. He seemed either drunk or high, but inconsequential either way.

He swung open the gas station door and sidled up to the counter.

A cup of coffee and $20 of gasoline for the car a pump number two, he told the cashier.

The cashier glanced out his window, then back at the man.

There is no car at pump number two, he replied.

The man's car had vanished into the night, possibly at the hands of the intoxicated stranger. The police report did not mention how full its gas tank was when it disappeared.