Man Arrested After Officials Rescue Him From Chimney In Sylmar

SYLMAR (CBSLA.com) — A man was arrested early Tuesday morning after he called 911 for help when he became trapped in the chimney of a two-story building in Sylmar Park.

Los Angeles firefighters rescued 27-year-old Cuauhtli Castillo Lujano around midnight at the Sylmar Recreation Center at Astoria Street and Borden Avenue.

"This guy could take some lessons from Santa Claus," LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said in a statement.  "Namely, abstain from drink before climbing down chimneys and keep better track of the calendar; there's still 225 days until Christmas."

Lujano told police he fell into the chimney while he was jumping from roof to roof of buildings in the area.

"That's what people do," he told officers, who say they smelled alcohol on his breath.

Lujano was arrested on suspicion of trespassing a closed public building.

"We suspect his intent was to get into the building, probably to steal something, but we couldn't prove that," Lt. Vernon said.  "But we'll look into his activities and use his fingerprints now to see if there's any local burglaries we can clear. Who knows? Maybe he gave us any early Christmas present after all."

His bail was set at $2,500.