Scott City man finds unwelcome guest

A Scott City resident awoke Thursday morning to find an intoxicated, nearly naked stranger sleeping on his couch.

Police responded to a call of a burglary around 5 a.m. Thursday and found an underwear-clad man asleep on the couch inside an 11th Street home in which he did not live, police chief Don Cobb said.

The home's resident woke up to the man's stirrings and called the police. After some time, officers were able to rouse the man, whom Cobb described as "flat, blasted and tore-down" drunk.

When the man woke up, he attempted to fight with the officers but was not able to land a single blow. The officers used a Taser to incapacitate him, Cobb said.

For the next several hours, the man was in the Scott City jail under close observation. Cobb said that when the man finally sobered up around 11 a.m., he could not remember earlier conversations with the chief or others.

The man, a Scott City resident employed as a deck hand on a riverboat, also could not remember what happened to him or how he came to be in the other man's home.

"I don't know how you get that drunk," Cobb said.

Once sober, the man expressed relief when he learned where he was.

"When you wake up in a jail cell and are happy to be there, maybe it's time to lay off the sauce," the chief said.

No charges had been filed as of Thursday night.