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Chimney sweep: Police arrest man who became stuck while attempting to hide

Robert Langlias was found in a chimney by Fall River police.
Stuck in the chimney: A man later identified as Robert Langlias became stuck in a chimney when he attempted to elude police. (Fall River Police Department)

FALL RIVER, Mass. — Bob Rivers used a childlike voice in 1987′s “The Chimney Song” to observe that “There’s something stuck up in the chimney and I don’t know what it is.”

On the other hand, police in Massachusetts this week knew exactly who was stuck in the chimney. And it wasn’t a child -- or even Santa Claus.

“You’re an idiot,” one officer can be heard in body camera video footage when police used a flashlight to discover a man they believed was fleeing after a drug bust.

According to a news release from the Fall River Police Department, Robert Langlais, 33, was arrested on Dec. 10. He was formally arrested for possession of Class A drugs, possession of Class B drugs and “a slew of charges from outstanding warrants.”

Police were executing a search warrant at 127 Canal St. in Fall River when two men fled from the residence by climbing to the roof, the news release stated.

One man avoided capture by jumping from the roof onto a parked vehicle. But the second man, later identified as Langlias, “invoked the essence of the seasonal icon” and attempted to hide inside a chimney.

The man quickly became lodged in the chimney and needed assistance from “the very detectives he was previously fleeing from.”

Robert Langlias, left, was stuck in a chimney. Tanisha Ibay, who was not stuck, was also arrested.

Members of the Fall River Fire Department and the Fall River Emergency Medical Services department were able to extricate Langlias, WFXT reported.

“Due to his Santa-antics,” Langlias was taken to an area hospital and was later medically cleared, police said in their news release.

Also arrested at the scene “with less theatrics” was Tanisha Ibay, police said. She was charged with possession of Class A drugs and possession of Class B drugs.

Langlias’ court-appointed attorney did not immediately return an email message to The Associated Press.


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