ST. PATRICK'S DAY REVELER SHOOTS SLOW-FLUSHING TOILET

SCHERERVILLE, Ind.- An intoxicated man angered by a slow-flushing
toilet shot it to pieces at a restaurant with his semi-automatic
handgun after a night of St. Patrick's Day reveling, police said.

``He told investigators the toilet didn't flush fast enough for him,
so he fired it up. No one was injured. Fortunately, he was in the
bathroom by himself. He was highly intoxicated,'' Detective Sgt.
Michael Ison said.

Raymond A. Cruz, 49, was arrested after the incident early Thursday
morning. He was charged with criminal recklessness with a handgun, a
felony, and resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor.

Ison said Cruz, who had a permit to carry the handgun, refused to
surrender his .40-caliber Beretta to police.

Cruz's blood-alcohol content was 0.18 percent, nearly twice the legal
driving limit in Indiana, Ison said.

Schererville is about 20 miles southeast of Chicago.