NAKED CARPENTER GOES FREE

OAKLAND, Calif.

- An Oakland carpenter caught hammering nails and sawing wood in the nude last year has been found not guilty of indecent exposure by a judge.

Superior Court Judge, Julie Conger, ruled last week that although carpenter Percy Honniball was naked, he was not acting lewdly or seeking sexual gratification.

Honniball, 51, was arrested when he was caught building cabinets while naked in a clients home. The unassuming owner discovered the carpenter they hired nude when they went to check his work.

The carpenter has said he often works in the nude because it's more comfortable and it helps him keep his clothes clean.

Honniball has been caught three previous times building in the buff and earned two years' probation for his naked ways back in 2003, for violations in Berkeley. However, Oakland does not have a similar ban public nudity and the judge felt she had no choice but to set Honniball free.