CORNING — Just before 9 PM on February 7th, deputies arrived in the area between Liberal Avenue and South Avenue to investigate a rather odd report.
Apparently, a man dressed in white pants and no shirt was jumping in and out of traffic trying to flag down vehicles on Northbound I-5. Dispatch soon received a second report from the Olive Pit warehouse on Chase Avenue, from none other than the suspect himself.
He claimed that six to eight people were chasing him and trying to kill him. His solution: hole up in a pickle factory.
Deputies found the suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Clifford Ray Loffler, in the warehouse trying to close one of the roll-up doors.
True to witness description, Loffler was wearing only white long-john bottoms and a lone sock. Several windows and jars of olives were found broken, and olive gift baskets had been placed on a cart and rolled outside.
Loffler was ultimately arrested for attempted auto theft, burglary, vandalism, and public intoxication. The cost in damages is estimated at around $3,000.
