Man nabbed 3 times in week for skipping on tab

[July 01, 2009]  GRETNA, La. (AP) -- An Arizona man who likes several drinks with his lunch has been arrested three times in the past week for refusing to pay at restaurants where he ate.

Jefferson Parish sheriff's records show that a 36-year-old man was booked with defrauding an innkeeper after he ate at three restaurants, then laughed when asked to pay his bill.

The man allegedly ran up bills ranging from $23 to $31 -- including four beers with a lunch plate at one restaurant and four margaritas with a cheeseburger at another -- then said he was homeless and couldn't pay.

The man was being held Tuesday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of $1,000 bond. But he has been released on the same charges twice previously due to overcrowding.

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Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com/

[Associated Press]

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