Man charged for drunken joy ride in school bus

[April 02, 2009]  EL DORADO, Ark. (AP) -- Police in Arkansas say a drunken man stole a parked school bus and then asked a woman if she wanted to go for a ride. Police say 44-year-old Joseph P. Fannin faces theft and driving while intoxicated charges for the incident Friday night. He remains held on $5,000 bond.

Police say Fannin took an El Dorado School District bus parked near a bar and left it in a motel driveway. They say a woman called them after Fannin asked if she wanted a ride.

Police say Fannin told them he'd been kicked out of the bar and got into the bus because it was "a warm, dry place."

The school district says the driver was out of town and that the keys must've been left behind.

The public defender's office didn't immediately return a message left Wednesday.

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Information from: El Dorado News-Times, http://www.eldoradonews.com/

[Associated Press]

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