It was indeed a lucky day for a Washington man who bought a winning $25,000 lottery ticket, had it stolen and got it back within a two-hour span.
The man bought the ticket in a convenience store in northeast Washington and as he left, en route to the lottery offices to collect his prize, another man, who had been standing behind him, snatched the ticket and ran, the Washington Post said.
Within two hours, officers arrested the alleged thief and reunited the victim with his ticket. Minutes later, the D.C. Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board had cut the man a check for his winnings, minus federal taxes, police said.
Police had staked out the lottery offices and arrested a man and woman showed up to cash the ticket. The couple told police they were doing a friend a favor and, at police direction, called the friend and told him to join them. He did and was immediately arrested.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
