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Police: Drunk driver parks to nap in our parking spot

Drunken driving is all too common.

Drunken driving is all too common.

But drunken parking, that's unusual.

Especially in a police parking spot.

Right between two marked cars.

All law-breakers should make life so easy for law enforcement.

On Sunday night, according to police in East Pennsboro, just west of Harrisburg, an officer watched as a car sped into the department lot, parked in a spot reserved for cops, and reclined his seat, apparently planning to nap.

The officer went over, noticed an empty vodka bottle on the floor, and Michael Wagner, 37, of Mechanicsburg wound up getting his blood-alcohol level tested, according to Det. Adam Shope.

The legal limit: 0.08.

Wagner's level: 0.112.

A pipe with traces of marijuana was also found.

Wagner was charged with driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia.

"I'd give him credit for parking and sleeping it off somewhere else. Not in a police station parking lot," Shope said.

"I'd give you credit for sleeping it off in a bar parking lot."

In his seven years on the force, Shope hasn't seen a case like this one before, but he was hardly shocked.

"I find it unusual, but if you've been in this business, nothing really surprises you anymore," he said.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.