Crime of the Day - Keep it light-hearted

[Warhawk]

21 Dumbest Criminals of the 21st Century (So Far)

Aha - I have hit the jackpot!

http://www.criminaljusticeschools.com/blog/21-dumbest-criminals-of-the-21st-century-so-far

Read 'em and weep for the sheer amount of stupidity displayed in these crimes.

 

[Warhawk]

Cops Say Florida Woman Taught Children How to Shoplift

And this one should be up for mother of the year, if the kids are hers. It is not clear in the article if they are related or not.....

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483474,00.html


LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Lee County authorities say a 24-year-old Lehigh Acres woman taught children how shoplift then abandoned them when the group was stopped.
Latoya Bradley was jailed on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child cruelty and larceny petit theft.
An investigator said Bradley walked into a Lehigh Acres store with four children and showed a 12-year-old how to hide clothes underneath the other youngsters. Bradley fled the scene when the investigator confronted the children. She was later arrested.
A Department of Children and Families spokeswoman said her agency will also investigate.

 

[VF21]

So do I detect a sequel to Oliver! in the works for Broadway???

 

[VF21]

Hackers Crack Into Texas Road Sign, Warn of Zombies Ahead
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller

Texas Dept. of Transportation officials confirm a portable traffic sign at Lamar Boulevard and West 15th Street in Austin was hacked into last week.

Transportation officials in Texas are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, "Zombies Ahead."

Chris Lippincott, director of media relations for the Texas Department of Transportation, confirmed that a portable traffic sign at Lamar Boulevard and West 15th Street, near the University of Texas at Austin, was hacked into during the early hours of Jan. 19.

"It was clever, kind of cute, but not what it was intended for," said Lippincott, who saw the sign during his morning commute. "Those signs are deployed for a reason — to improve traffic conditions, let folks know there's a road closure."

"It's sort of amusing, but not at all helpful," he told FOXNews.com.

Tampering with portable road signs is illegal and potentially dangerous to drivers. It is a misdemeanor in Texas, with penalties ranging from fines to potential jail time.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484326,00.html

 

[Warhawk]

Police: Cleveland Man Asked 911 Dispatcher to Hold While He Bought Cocaine

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487508,00.html


CLEVELAND — Police in Cleveland say a man called police because he felt he was in danger — then asked the dispatcher to hold on while he made a drug deal.
Police Lt. Thomas Stacho said Tuesday that Alejandro Melendez was arrested after the call and was charged with possessing cocaine.
Police said Melendez called the emergency services hot line late Saturday and reported that two men with guns were watching him.
Police records show he hung up, so the dispatcher called back.
Melendez answered and asked the dispatcher to hold on, but the dispatcher could still hear what was being said.
A voice can be heard on the recording of the call saying: "What you need? A 10-pack? You need a 10-pack? All right." Police say "10-pack" is slang for a bundle of heroin.
The dispatcher called police, who found Melendez at the location he gave, had the dispatcher call his cell phone again, and said they found cocaine in his trousers.
There was no immediate indication Tuesday if Melendez, 20, had an attorney to speak for him.

 

[Warhawk]

Masked Man Robs Convenience Stores With Klingon Sword

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18637190/detail.html

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Colorado Springs police are looking for a man who hit two 7-Eleven convenience stores early Wednesday, armed with a Klingon sword.

The first robbery was reported at 1:50 a.m., at 145 N Spruce St. The clerk told police a white man in his 20s, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and wearing a black mask, entered the store with a weapon the clerk recognized from the Star Trek TV series.

The robber demanded money and left with an undisclosed amount.

A half hour later, police received a call from a 7-Eleven at 2407 N. Union Blvd., where a man matching the previous description entered the store with a similar weapon. He also demanded money from the store clerk. The clerk refused and the robber ran off.

Both clerks described the weapon as a Star Trek Klingon type sword, called a "Batleth."

Neither clerk was injured in the robberies.




I like the fact that both 7-11 clerks knew what a Batleth was!

 

[Spike]

Both clerks described the weapon as a Star Trek Klingon type sword, called a "Batleth."

Neither clerk was injured in the robberies.




I like the fact that both 7-11 clerks knew what a Batleth was!

Here's a visual for those who don't know, which makes the "crime" even sillier. Try concealing that baby.

I think a D'k tahg would have been much more convenient.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

MailOnline.uk: One-night stand man wakes to find lover has carved her name into his arm

This brings to mind two questions:

1. How much does one have to drink in order to not notice something like that?

2. Am I the only one who feels like this would have been looked at in a much harsher light if the genders had been reversed? I mean, seriously? "Unlawful wounding?" If this were a man doing this to a woman, I bet you anything he's being charged with sexual assault, if not worse.

 

[Jerryaki]

MailOnline.uk: One-night stand man wakes to find lover has carved her name into his arm

i can't decide which is worse, the name scar or the other scars she put on his back.

 

[Elise10]

Lost thief holes up in bank lavatory

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090202/od_nm/us_thief_lavatory;_ylt=AtueHfuKmsfoZf.usOjbHSwSH9EA
Lost thief holes up in bank lavatory

Mon Feb 2, 1:20 pm ET

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – A hapless thief drilled his way into a French bank at the weekend, but missed the safe and instead found himself in a lavatory where he was promptly arrested, a French newspaper reported on Sunday.

The 21-year-old broke into a building adjoining a branch of Banque Populaire in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille in the early hours of Saturday morning, La Provence newspaper said.

The paper said the man, who came from Belgium and was not named, thought that he was going to end up in a room housing safe deposit boxes but instead drilled into the lavatories.

Alarms were triggered when he broke through the wall and police caught the man when they arrived on the scene.

(Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet, Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Jon Boyle

 

[Superman]

Mans calls 911 after Burger King runs out of lemonade


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2009/02/07/0207bbarrest.html

When a Boynton Beach police officer arrived, the cashier told him she had informed Fortune at the drive-thru that the store no longer served lemonade. He became angry when he picked up his order at the window and threatened to call police.


The cashier told him to "Go ahead."
​

 

[kennadog]

Mans calls 911 after Burger King runs out of lemonade


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2009/02/07/0207bbarrest.html

When a Boynton Beach police officer arrived, the cashier told him she had informed Fortune at the drive-thru that the store no longer served lemonade. He became angry when he picked up his order at the window and threatened to call police.


The cashier told him to "Go ahead."
​

I'm so glad he has a badge and gun.

 

[Warhawk]

Teen Charged With Billing School for $37,000 Worth of Candy

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,490869,00.html


MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Police say an Ohio teenager tried to pull off a sweet deal by ordering more than $37,000 of candy online and charging the bill to his former high school.
Police say the 18-year-old used a Middletown High School purchasing number to place orders for thousands of lollipops and candy bars from Michigan-based The Goodies Factory. It wasn't clear how he accessed the number.
The candy company became suspicious, contacted the school and was told by detectives to send an empty box.
Police say he had the order shipped to his home and was arrested after the fake delivery.
The teen faces two counts of felony telecommunications fraud. He was being held in Middletown City Jail on more than $30,000 bond.

 

[StevenHW]

Mans calls 911 after Burger King runs out of lemonade

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2009/02/07/0207bbarrest.html

When a Boynton Beach police officer arrived, the cashier told him she had informed Fortune at the drive-thru that the store no longer served lemonade. He became angry when he picked up his order at the window and threatened to call police.

The cashier told him to "Go ahead."​

​

Here is the arrest report of the incident:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0209092burgerking1.html

Years ago, Burger King used to have a slogan that went "Have It Your Way!". I guess the customer didn't know that lemonade was no longer part of getting "his way" at Burger King anymore!

 

[Warhawk]

Ohio Fourth Grade Teacher Cut Class for Prostitution, Police Say

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,491124,00.html


NEW YORK — Police say an Ohio fourth grade teacher charged with prostitution skipped class after using a school computer to arrange an afternoon tryst at a motel.
Logan County Sheriff's officials say 35-year-old Amber Carter was arrested Tuesday in a motel parking lot in Bellefontaine in central Ohio.
Police say Carter is charged with misdemeanor prostitution and a felony count of unauthorized use of property, regarding the computer.
Bellefontaine City Schools Superintendent Larry Anderson says school officials are shocked. He says Carter has worked for the district for 13 years and has never received a reprimand.
She has been placed on administrative leave.
A woman answering a phone listing for Amber Carter in Bellefontaine hung up on a call seeking comment Wednesday.

 

[dukeswh]

Woman uses wedgie to capture suspected thief

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149306/Woman-uses-wedgie-to-capture-suspected-thief

SALT LAKE CITY – It took a wedgie and a headlock to pin down a man suspected of breaking into a car. Yvonne Morris, a technician at the Brickyard Animal Hospital, said she chased a man who broke into a co-worker's car, but he kept squirming away from her.

Morris eventually grabbed the man's boxer shorts and pulled. Salt Lake City police said she then she put a headlock on the man until help could arrive.

The man was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of vehicle burglary, possession of stolen property and outstanding warrants. - AP

 

[Warhawk]

Kansas City Police Change Cause of Death From Natural to Homicide

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,501465,00.html


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police and medical examiners who thought a man died of natural causes changed their minds after funeral-home workers found bullet holes in his head.
The Kansas City Star reported Thursday that three bullet wounds — two of them in Anthony Crockett's head — were noticed after the man's body was embalmed Friday. The funeral home returned the 49-year-old Kansas City man's body to the Jackson County medical examiner's office, and police counted the death as a homicide.
Detectives and Jackson County medical examiners never visited Crockett's home to inspect his body. A paramedic told police he believed the death was natural after finding prescription containers for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes in the home.
Crockett's girlfriend, who had called police after finding his body, told authorities that he had heart problems for years.
Police noted blood on Crockett's face, but victims can bleed from natural causes or a fall. They did not collect forensic evidence, and by the time the mistake was realized and investigators secured Crockett's house as a crime scene, relatives already had cleaned it.
It was the second time in 17 months that a Kansas City funeral home returned a homicide victim's body mistakenly ruled a natural death by the medical examiner's office.
The other case was in September 2007 and involved Lorraine Grayson, 77, who had been beaten and sexually assaulted in her home. Police later found out that Grayson's purse was missing and her 46-year-old neighbor was charged with her death.
"This kind of mistake is a pretty bad mistake," said Thomas Young, the former Jackson County medical examiner who now runs a private forensic pathology practice.
Jeph BurroughsScanlon, a Jackson County spokesman, said standard protocol was followed in Crockett's case, but he added that the county is concerned and looking into its practices.
So are Kansas City police.
"We're going to be reviewing how we handle these kinds of cases, to see if anything needs to be changed," said Capt. Rich Lockhart, a police spokesman. "It's a system problem, and we need to figure out where the breakdown in the system occurred."

 

[Warhawk]

Dayton Mother Caught Breast Feeding and Driving

http://www.whiotv.com/news/18813161/detail.html

KETTERING, Ohio -- A Dayton mother is facing charges for breast feeding her daughter while driving her other children to school.

Genine Compton was pulled over by Kettering police Thursday at Far Hills and Dorothy Lane while taking her other children to school.

Police say Comptom could have injured her child and others because she was breast feeding and talking on the cell phone while driving the vehicle.

Compton was issued citations for child endangering and violating the child restraint law. Compton told News Center 7 Friday, "If my child's hungry, I'm going to feed it."

Police say it is against the law to drive with a child in your lap. Children under 4 or 40 pounds must be properly restrained in a child safety seat.

In this case, officers said Compton had the child in the lap with the baby's head up against the steering wheel. They say there is not only the risk of a crash, but deployment of the airbag.

Compton said she will take the advice of the officers into consideration, but she may breast feed her baby while driving in the future if she feels that is is necessary.

She could face up to 180 days in jail and fines for the child endangering citation.

 

[VF21]

Hrm...apparently things aren't quite so strict in Ohio? Hello? She was talking on her cell phone, for gawd's sake!!! They should be taking away her children and sending her off to the gulag!




















































/sarcasm

 

[Elise10]

Calif. aquarium blames flooding on curious octopus

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090227/ap_on_fe_st/odd_octopus_flood;_ylt=ApHuMMsq.JuA4KHcZH7mMLAsQE4F
Fri Feb 27, 8:15 am ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Staff at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California say the trickster who flooded their offices with sea water was armed. Eight-armed, to be exact.

They blame the soaking they discovered Tuesday morning on the aquarium's resident two-spotted octopus, a tiny female known for being curious and gregarious with visitors. The octopus apparently tugged on a valve and that allowed hundreds of gallons of water to overflow its tank.

Aquarium spokeswoman Randi Parent says no sea life was harmed by the flood, but the brand new, ecologically designed floors might be damaged by the water.

 

[VF21]

The new ecologically designed floors in an aquarium might be damaged by water? Why doesn't that surprise me in the least?

 

[Warhawk]

Florida Woman Calls 911 After McDonald's Runs Out of McNuggets

Qualifies as an emergency, doesn't it? You can listen to the calls too, if you like.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504125,00.html


A Florida woman called 911 three times after she paid for a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets at a McDonald's but the fast-food restaurant ran out of them and refused to give her a refund.
Latreasa L. Goodman, 27, made the calls after she tried to get her money back from a Fort Pierce McDonald's and the cashier told her all sales were final. Police released the 911 tapes.
"This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one," police quoted her as saying. "This is an emergency."
The cashier suggested she choose something else off the menu of equal value to the McNuggets, and offered the restaurant's cheeseburger called the McDouble.
"She's trying to force me to eat something off the menu and I don't want it," Goodman told 911.
The first dispatcher, a woman, asks if there's a manager there, but listens to Goodman's complaints and says she's sending someone.
The second, male dispatcher tells her he's aware of the incident and "we've got an officer coming out there to talk to you."
Police say Goodman was cited on a misuse of 911 charge. A current phone listing for Goodman couldn't be found.
A McDonald's spokesman said Goodman should have been given a refund, and she's being sent a gift card for a free meal.

 

[Warhawk]

Oregon Arsonist Targeting 1990s Green Ford Escorts

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504347,00.html


MEDFORD, Ore. — An arsonist is on the prowl in Medford for green Ford Escorts from the 1990s.
Three of them have been burned in recent weeks, a series that Medford police Sgt. Mike Budreau describes as "pretty bizarre."
A 1995 green Ford Escort was destroyed by flames early Sunday morning after someone broke a window and poured flammable liquid into it. A similar fire was set in a 1993 green Ford Escort parked in a driveway on Feb. 22.
Investigators have also uncovered a Feb. 2 case of a 1992 green Ford Escort damaged by a plastic container filled with flammable liquid placed next to a tire that burned without setting the car afire.
Budreau told the Mail Tribune newspaper in Medford, "I think this person really doesn't like Ford Escorts."

 

[Elise10]

Qualifies as an emergency, doesn't it? You can listen to the calls too, if you like.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504125,00.html


A Florida woman called 911 three times after she paid for a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets at a McDonald's but the fast-food restaurant ran out of them and refused to give her a refund.
Latreasa L. Goodman, 27, made the calls after she tried to get her money back from a Fort Pierce McDonald's and the cashier told her all sales were final. Police released the 911 tapes.
"This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one," police quoted her as saying. "This is an emergency."
The cashier suggested she choose something else off the menu of equal value to the McNuggets, and offered the restaurant's cheeseburger called the McDouble.
"She's trying to force me to eat something off the menu and I don't want it," Goodman told 911.
The first dispatcher, a woman, asks if there's a manager there, but listens to Goodman's complaints and says she's sending someone.
The second, male dispatcher tells her he's aware of the incident and "we've got an officer coming out there to talk to you."
Police say Goodman was cited on a misuse of 911 charge. A current phone listing for Goodman couldn't be found.
A McDonald's spokesman said Goodman should have been given a refund, and she's being sent a gift card for a free meal.

Ok, let me get this straight: First we had this:

Originally Posted by Superman

Mans calls 911 after Burger King runs out of lemonade


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/...7bbarrest.html

When a Boynton Beach police officer arrived, the cashier told him she had informed Fortune at the drive-thru that the store no longer served lemonade. He became angry when he picked up his order at the window and threatened to call police.


The cashier told him to "Go ahead."
​

Now McDonalds runs out of McNuggets! This is crazy!

I would not have called 911 3 times on them but I understand her frustration, they should have given her her money back if she did not want to accept their offer of something else.

 

[Warhawk]

Georgia inmate arrested trying to get back in jail

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_fe_st/odd_back_in_jail

WOODBINE, Ga. – Authorities say they arrested an escaped jail inmate trying to sneak back into the lockup with cigarettes allegedly stolen from a nearby store.
Sheriff Tommy Gregory said Saturday that 25-year-old Harry Jackson had opened a door to the exercise yard and climbed the outer fence.
Deputies found a jail door unlocked early Saturday and were looking for the inmate. They spotted Jackson trying to come back in and found 14 packs of cigarettes they believe were stolen from a convenience store about a block away.
Jackson faces new charges of breaking out of jail and burglary. He was already in jail in Camden County in far southeast Georgia for charges including possession of a controlled substance and violating probation.

 

[Warhawk]

DUI Defendant Claims He Is His Own Country

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,508951,00.html


EASTON, Pa. — A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he's his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.
Witmer, who represented himself, said he believes police lack jurisdiction to pull him over. As he said in court: "I live inside myself, not in Pennsylvania." He said there is no victim in the crime and asked to go to trial.
Defense attorney James Connell, Witmer's standby counsel, said a challenge to the traffic stop would need to be filed as a pretrial motion.

 

[kennadog]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_fe_st/odd_back_in_jail

WOODBINE, Ga. – Authorities say they arrested an escaped jail inmate trying to sneak back into the lockup with cigarettes allegedly stolen from a nearby store.
Sheriff Tommy Gregory said Saturday that 25-year-old Harry Jackson had opened a door to the exercise yard and climbed the outer fence.
Deputies found a jail door unlocked early Saturday and were looking for the inmate. They spotted Jackson trying to come back in and found 14 packs of cigarettes they believe were stolen from a convenience store about a block away.
Jackson faces new charges of breaking out of jail and burglary. He was already in jail in Camden County in far southeast Georgia for charges including possession of a controlled substance and violating probation.

Yeah, but if he had succeeded in getting back in, what a great alibi!

 

[StevenHW]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,508951,00.html


EASTON, Pa. — A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he's his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.
Witmer, who represented himself, said he believes police lack jurisdiction to pull him over. As he said in court: "I live inside myself, not in Pennsylvania."...[snip]...

As Jerry Seinfeld once said, "I'm the master of my own domain!"

 

[VF21]

Vt. hunter busted for bolting antlers on dead doe

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090314/ap_on_fe_st/odd_bogus_antlers_4

Sat Mar 14, 12:41 pm ET

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A man who bolted antlers to the head of a dead doe and posed for a photograph with the deer was fined $400 and jailed for game violations.

Marcel Fournier, 19, shot the deer the evening of Nov. 22 and used lag bolts and epoxy to attach a 10-point rack, officials said. He then checked in the kill as lawful game at Barnie's Market.

It's illegal to kill an antlerless deer, and it's also illegal to hunt at night.

The Concord resident admitted to the killing and led a game warden to the deer's remains after an anonymous caller alerted authorities. Fournier said he had "quite a time" drilling and fastening the antlers, authorities said.

Game warden David Gregory said the antlers didn't look or feel right.

"When you grabbed them, you'd feel movement," he said.

Col. David LeCours, chief warden of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the size of the antlers relative to the size of the deer seemed off.

"Something wasn't natural about them, in addition to the fact that they weren't natural," he said.

Fournier was sentenced to 10 days in jail Feb. 18 for taking a deer in a closed season. He won't qualify for a state hunting, fishing or trapping license for at least three years.

LeCours said add-on antlers are the stuff of legend, but that it's the first documented case of it in Vermont.

 

[doone]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509231,00.html


McALESTER, Okla. — A 23-year-old inmate beaten to death at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary had been put in a cell with convicted killer he had testified against.

Prison spokesman Jerry Massie says Paul Duran Jr. fought with one cellmate and then was put in a cell with Jessie James Dalton.

Duran was found beaten to death about 15 minutes later.

Massie says the two were not supposed to be put in the same cell and prison officials are trying to determine how it happened.

Duran and Dalton were co-defendants in the January 2002 shooting death of Billy Wayne Ray in Oklahoma City.

Duran pleaded guilty to a robbery charge and testified against Dalton who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Massie says investigators will present their findings to a district attorney who will decide if criminal charges will be filed.