MADISON — A Madison man had no problem with a police request to search him for weapons, because since when are chopsticks considered weapons?
But there they were, all 75 of them, stuffed into the right pants leg of the suspect, who was being questioned after reportedly causing a scene at a restaurant near the UW-Madison campus.
Michael Arms, 60, no permanent address, was cited for unlawful trespass after allegedly taking the Asian eating utensils from Hong Kong Cafe, 2 S. Mills St., Madison police said in a news release.
The owner of the restaurant called police the night of Feb. 5 to get Arms arrested for trespassing, but before police arrived, he had left the restaurant and gone to a McDonald's across the street.
"The owner said the suspect was asked numerous times to leave since he was just hanging out and not dining," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "He eventually sat down on the dining room floor in the middle of the restaurant, asking 'Why are you hating on me?'"
When officers approached Arms at McDonald's he was asked if he could figure out why he was being questioned.
"Through slurred speech, he professed to have no knowledge as to why this situation would arise," DeSpain said.
When searched, the chopsticks were found in his right pants leg.
"He admitted he got the eating utensils from across the street at the Hong Kong Cafe where he had just been," DeSpain said.
The owner of the Hong Kong Cafe didn't realize Arms had allegedly taken the chopsticks.
