Brentyn Krueger must compensate Apple Valley neighbors for huffing their air conditioning units

For Brentyn Krueger, air conditioners are good for more than just cooling down.

Who needs pot, meth, or cocaine when there are air conditioners nearby?

That's a question Brentyn Krueger apparently asked himself in the fall of 2010, when he was repeatedly busted huffing Freon out of his Apple Valley neighbors' air conditioning units.

Last Friday, Krueger was ordered by pay $1,531 in restitution and serve 10 days of community service for stealing his neighbors Freon to get high in that most bizarre of ways.

Krueger, 36, was first found "slumped over the air-conditioning unit" at a neighbor's home in November 2010. Police said he had "his torso lodged between the unit and the house."

The next night, police found Krueger confusedly stumbling around the same neighborhood and watched as he ran into another neighbor's house to avoid them. Krueger eventually admitted to police he'd been huffing Freon both that night and the night before.

A few weeks later, he was found unconscious in another neighbor's yard.

Who knew one of these could get you high?

Neighbor Deb Baker told WCCO that Krueger "probably passed out here a lot because we had to completely recharge our air conditioning unit with Freon." It turns out Krueger huffed up over $1,500 worth from Baker and other neighbors.

When charges were initially filed against Krueger last fall, Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom told the Pioneer Press it was the first time he had prosecuted such a case and the first time he'd heard of someone inhaling Freon. Inhalant abuse typically peaks around age 14 or 15, Backstrom said, implying Krueger was about 20 years late to the party.

In addition to the restitution and community service, Krueger must submit to chemical dependency treatment and abide by other conditions, none of which involve staying away from air conditioners. We suppose that's fine, as long as he can resist the urge to huff that sweet Freon.