The Stupid Crimes & Misdemeanors Thread

[TexasStooge]

Mom Said to Help Girls Bake Ex-Lax Cookies

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP) - A 43-year-old woman is charged with helping her daughter and two other teenage girls bake cookies laced with a laxative that were then given to a teacher.

Julie Hunt appeared in Skowhegan District Court on Monday and pleaded innocent to a charge of misdemeanor assault.

Hunt was arrested Friday after a police investigation into the attempted prank at Carrabec Community School in Anson that sickened four seventh- and eighth-grade children.

The cookies, which were baked with Ex-Lax, were left on the teacher's desk on April 10 with a note saying, "We made these cookies just for you, hope you enjoy them."

According to a police affidavit, Hunt told the girls how to crush the laxative pills and mix them in with the cookie batter. The girls, who are 13 and 14, used an entire box of pills, the affidavit says.

Mary Adley, the principal of the school, called police on April 24 after hearing two girls talking about the incident.

Maine State Police Lt. Dale Lancaster said that the girls were not facing criminal charges. The affidavit said all three girls were suspended by school officials.

But Hunt's involvement could not be overlooked, Lancaster said.

"If you assist children with perpetrating these kinds of crimes, you will be charged," he said.

[TexasStooge]

Two Charged After Tainting Teachers' Tea

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) - Two students were charged with insult or abuse to a teacher after allegedly putting a laxative in tea that two teachers drank before the prank was uncovered.

Harry Lee Keek and Bradley William Parham, both 18, were cited with a misdemeanor count, police said Monday. The two face a hearing May 16 in Hot Springs District Court; two others also could be charged.

The Lakeside High School seniors are accused of tampering with the tea as a prank. Two teachers drank the tea and suffered from cramps afterward.

Police Cpl. Chris Chapmond said Monday that the charge is punishable by a fine ranging from $100 to $1,500 in addition to any disciplinary action taken by school officials.

According to a police report, Parham bought the laxative and Keek shook the tea to blend it in. The two others believed to be involved will likely be cited this week, Chapmond said.
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Information from: The Sentinel-Record

[TexasStooge]

Man Arrested for Drunken Mower Driving

VERMILION, Ohio (AP) - Police have arrested a man accused of operating lawnmower while drunk. Dondi Bowles, 50, was arrested about 9:45 p.m. Friday as he drove the mower on a sidewalk.

Police said he had used the mower to drive to a store about a mile from his home and was arrested on his way back. Police had the lawn mower towed.

Police said a breath test showed that Bowles' blood alcohol level was 0.144 percent, above Ohio's limit of 0.08 percent.

Police said it was Bowels' third drunken driving related arrest in six months.

Vermilion is a Lake Erie town about 40 miles west of Cleveland.
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Information from: The Plain Dealer

[rainstorm]

Mom Said to Help Girls Bake Ex-Lax Cookies

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP) - A 43-year-old woman is charged with helping her daughter and two other teenage girls bake cookies laced with a laxative that were then given to a teacher.

Julie Hunt appeared in Skowhegan District Court on Monday and pleaded innocent to a charge of misdemeanor assault.

Hunt was arrested Friday after a police investigation into the attempted prank at Carrabec Community School in Anson that sickened four seventh- and eighth-grade children.

The cookies, which were baked with Ex-Lax, were left on the teacher's desk on April 10 with a note saying, "We made these cookies just for you, hope you enjoy them."

According to a police affidavit, Hunt told the girls how to crush the laxative pills and mix them in with the cookie batter. The girls, who are 13 and 14, used an entire box of pills, the affidavit says.

Mary Adley, the principal of the school, called police on April 24 after hearing two girls talking about the incident.

Maine State Police Lt. Dale Lancaster said that the girls were not facing criminal charges. The affidavit said all three girls were suspended by school officials.

But Hunt's involvement could not be overlooked, Lancaster said.

"If you assist children with perpetrating these kinds of crimes, you will be charged," he said.

a sad situation

[TexasStooge]

'Paraplegic' Leaps From Wheelchair, Flees

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities said a woman who claimed she was a paraplegic and repeatedly filed claims and lawsuits for noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act was a con artist without any physical limitations.

After her arrest this month by Las Vegas police, Laura Lee Medley, 35, leaped from her wheelchair and ran for freedom, officials said.

Complaining earlier that she was having medical problems, police took the woman to a Las Vegas hospital for treatment, said David Wert, spokesman for San Bernardino County.

"That's where the great miracle occurred," he said. Medley "made a break for it," leading police on a brief foot pursuit before she was captured, Wert said.

Medley's claims against public entities — including San Bernardino County, South Pasadena and Long Beach — claimed a bus dropped her off near what she called a non-ADA compliant roadway or curb, causing her wheelchair to topple. She claimed three broken arms in eight weeks — two lefts and a right.

South Pasadena settled Medley's claim for $6,700 on Oct. 18, 2005.

Her questionable claims led to last week's arrest in Las Vegas.

Medley was charged with filing false documents, attempted grand theft and two counts of insurance fraud. She is in a Las Vegas jail awaiting extradition to San Bernardino.

Medley's alleged deception was discovered by San Bernardino County officials after she filed a complaint saying she fell and broke her left arm on Oct. 17, 2005.

County lawyer Mike Sachs said Medley called him in December to complain about treatment she was receiving from county employees. Medley claimed she was an ADA compliance expert and she threatened to organize a protest march, Sachs said.

"She was a very pushy lady, and anytime she wasn't happy with a response she was getting from someone at the county, she would try to go to the next highest person," Sachs said.

On Feb. 4, she filed a claim for $9,072 in medical expenses and lost wages. Medley then produced hospital medical records, documents that repeatedly misspelled Bernardino as Bernadino.

The hospital confirmed the documents were bogus.

Sachs said they learned Medley filed a nearly identical wheelchair-toppling claim seeking $5,200 from Long Beach. The claim was denied because the sidewalk was wheelchair accessible, Long Beach Deputy City Attorney Belinda Mayes said.

Medley then filed a federal lawsuit April 4 against Long Beach. That U.S. District Court suit is still pending and Mayes declined comment.
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Information from: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

[TexasStooge]

Man Arrested After Taking Pot Plant Photos

STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) - An east Georgia man landed in jail after photographing his healthy plants and going to local drug store to have the pictures developed.

His bumper crop was marijuana, according to police, who arrested him as he went to pick the photos up.

Statesboro Police Capt. L. C. Williams said Byron Charles Mattheeussen, 21, was charged Tuesday with manufacturing marijuana, manufacturing marijuana within 1,000 feet of a housing project, and possession of drug related objects.

Williams said a photo lab technician called police after seeing the subject of the photos. Officers confirmed the plants in the pictures were marijuana, he said.

After getting a search warrant, he said, police found 42 suspected marijuana plants growing in and around the residence, along with tools, literature on growing marijuana and pot-smoking paraphernalia.

Mattheeussen was taken to the Bulloch County Jail and issued an $8,000 property bond.
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Information from: Statesboro Herald

[TexasStooge]

Bizarre protest under scrutiny

LAKE COUNTY Highland man vows more 'cat poop' mailings

CROWN POINT, Indiana (Northwest Indiana Times) - A Highland man, who claims to have mailed boxes of "cat poop sandwiches" to Lake County courts Monday to protest a small claims case, has locked himself in his home in anticipation of being arrested.

"I'm not coming out of this house," he said.

Richard Carroll, 54, is the same man who early last month sent a package to Lake Superior Court Magistrate Michael Pagano that a hazardous materials team examined.

Carroll, who insists he's not violent, said he believes he's making his stand. The six boxes mailed this week contained the excrement, bread and torn up money with some change thrown in, he said.

"They all say I'm crazy, but I'm crazy about my rights," he said.

Authorities said they are aware of his actions.

The owner of three cats, Carroll, who also goes by the name Vampire Killer, said he intends to mail similar boxes weekly. He claims he will only leave his home if police arrive with an arrest warrant and a federal agent.

[TexasStooge]

Man says he torched stuff store for religious reasons

POWELL, Tennesee (WBIR.com) - Fire investigators say a Powell man admitted dressing up like a ninja to burn down an adult business, all in the name of God.

Benjamin Daniel Warren, age 20, faces an arson charge that could send him to prison for six years. Warren is out on $5,000 bond while his case goes before a grand jury. Arson investigators had no clue Warren was a suspect until he came in to confess.

Arson investigators say Warren admitted using a fake gun to get the clerk out of the Town and Country bookstore,7011 Clinton Highway, back on January 31. After ordering the employee to leave the store, Warren then pored six gallons of a flammable liquid inside the store and set it ablaze.

The fire did $900,000 worth of damage to the building, which remains closed.

At the time of the asron, Warren was enrolled as a student at Crown College, a Baptist institution in Powell.

Crown President Dr. Clarence Sexton says Warren dropped out of the school a few weeks after the arson. A few months later, someone came to Sexton with information that Warren might have confessed to the crime.

"He (Warren) was in an auto accident and thought God was dealing with his conscience about the thing (fire)," Dr. Sexton says. "He wanted to get right with it."

After hearing the rumor, Dr. Sexton called police. He then confronted Warren over the phone.

"He's confessed to the whole thing," Dr. Sexton says. "From what he has shared with me, he felt like this (adult bookstore)industry has corrupted lots of people and families, and he felt he ought to do this at the time."

Dr. Sexton says he himeslf has serious problems with adult businesses, but that Town and Country Boostore was operating within the law. Dr. Sexton says Warren realizes what he did was wrong and regrets what happened.

"We totally disapprove with what he did," Dr. Sexton says. "He broke the law and should suffer the consequences."

10 News stopped by Warren's home and left two messages with his attorneys Friday, but were unable to get any comment.

[TexasStooge]

MySpace.com Bragging Leads to Charges

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - Two teenagers were charged with setting fires in suburban Washington after they bragged about the blazes on MySpace.com, authorities said.

The 17-year-old schoolmates were involved in 17 fires in Montgomery County, fire officials said Friday. The teens face 22 charges, including two counts each of first-degree arson and four counts of second-degree arson.

Their names were not released because they were charged as juveniles.

Stores, vehicles, a bowling alley and two school buses were set on fire between Jan. 20 and April 16. Investigators got a tip to check out the online social networking site MySpace.com, where they found photos and descriptions.

"The significant thing is they posted on the Internet, and bragged about the fires, and that certainly allowed us to break the case," county Fire Chief Thomas W. Carr Jr. said. "They posted photos of these fires."

The teens are being held at a juvenile detention center.

"Whatever their motive is, they took the opportunity to set numerous fires," Carr said. "The neighbors were very much concerned about the terror in their neighborhood. They were freaked out."

[TexasStooge]

Suspected Burglar Rescued From NYC Chimney

NEW YORK (AP) - A burglar who got stuck in a chimney on Sunday morning was rescued after a woman who lives in the building next door heard a voice coming from within the walls and called for help, police said.

City emergency officials, who heard the whimpering, broke through the brick chimney of the residential building on the West Side of Manhattan and used ropes to pull out the man, who was arrested, police said.

The man, about 5-foot-3 and 110 pounds and covered in soot and grime, was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Police said he would be charged with burglary. They didn't say if he was going in or coming out of the chimney or how he became stuck.

[TexasStooge]

Homeless Foot-Licker Charged in Calif.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A homeless Orange County man who allegedly licked the feet of five boys after promising to cast them in a television commercial has been charged with lewd conduct, officials said Tuesday.

Steven Michael Jones, 43, will be arraigned in Newport Beach Friday, said Sheriff's Department Spokesman Jim Amormino.

Jones, of San Clemente, was charged with five felony counts of lewd acts with a child and one misdemeanor of child annoyance, Amormino said. All the victims were under 14.

If convicted on all counts, Jones faces 16 years in prison.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Jones April 14 near the shore in San Clemente. Witnesses told authorities Jones was wearing a suit the day before when he approached three boys sitting on a bench, Amormino said.

"It's unusual for someone to wear a suit to the beach," Amormino said.

The boys had just come off the beach and were not wearing shoes. Jones allegedly promised them a part in a Johnson & Johnson television commercial, telling them he first needed to inspect their feet, Amormino said.

"He allegedly licked the bottom of one of the boys' feet. The other two boys ran away," Amormino said.

Jones allegedly used a similar ruse March 28 on four boys near Dana Point Library. He said he'd pay them $1,500 to appear in a commercial, but first had to inspect their feet, Amormino said. Jones allegedly licked the feet of all four boys, Amormino said.

Jones was being held on $115,000 bail.
_____________________________________________________________

The aftertaste of feet get to you? try a Hamwinkie!


Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"

[TexasStooge]

Thief locks self inside van

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Court TV) - A new use for child safety locks: They not only keep children inside cars, they work equally well on would-be thieves.

Things appeared to be going well for Angel Tarazon in the early morning hours of May 8. According to Columbus police, the Ohio man had just successfully broken into a van that belonged to an appliance repair company and had collected a cache of repair tools to take with him. But his good luck deserted him when he tried to exit the van and found himself trapped inside.

Sergeant Mike Woods said the van was equipped with child safety locks that were activated when Tarazon initially entered the vehicle and closed the side door behind him. Tarazon was unable to get to the driver's section to deactivate the system because of a steel cage that separated the front from the rear section of the vehicle.

Tarazon remained in the vehicle until a company employee showed up at about 7:10 a.m. and discovered him in the vehicle. The man, however, refused to let the trapped thief out and contacted police instead.

Columbus police arrested Tarazon at about 7:25 a.m. Sgt. Woods said several tools were recovered from his pocket.

Tarazon was charged with theft from a motor vehicle and criminal damaging. He is currently in the Franklin County Jail.

[TexasStooge]

Mamma Mia! Cops bust pizza stickup artist

By Michele McPhee / The Boston Herald

BOSTON, Mass. - A gun-toting robber wanted for a slew of fast-food stickups got more than he ordered yesterday when a pizza delivery man carrying two Italian subs and sodas turned out to be a Boston cop.

The weapon turned out to be a BB gun, but police say the 17-year-old suspect is being eyed in the robberies of up to 11 deliverymen who have been robbed in the Bowdoin Street/Geneva Avenue area of Dorchester this year alone.

Just before 3:30 p.m., C-11 officer Emanuel Canuto rang the bell at an Everton Street address where a phone order had been directed. By then, the area was swarming with backup cops.

The owner of the pizzeria, noting the address as the same spot where two other robberies had taken place, alerted cops at Area C-11 to the phone order.

The residents of the address - who had nothing to do with the robberies and were not even home - did not answer, but the teen suspect ran out from the side of the house toting aBB gun that looked just like a Smith & Wesson .45-caliber handgun.

The teen got close enough to point the weapon square at the plainclothes cop’s head, and Canuto dropped the food on the ground along with a small roll of cash, to throw his hands in the air, knowing backup was close by.

Sgt. Detective William Gross, who set up the sting, swiftly moved in. “I yelled to the kid, ‘Drop it! Drop the gun!’ When he turned his attention to me, Officer Canuto knocked the gun from his hand,” Gross said. “It was excellent teamwork.”

Police arrested the suspect but asked that his name be withheld by the Herald because he is a suspect in other cases still being investigated.

The teenager is being held on armed robbery charges and is expected to be in lineups that could connect him to other crimes, Gross said.

“These bad guys pick an address that is not their house where they can easily escape. The robbery takes place, and the owners don’t even know what happened,” Gross said. “We are confident that this suspect will be connected to other robberies, if not all 11. They all took place in the immediate vicinity.”

Fast-food delivery workers are easy targets for criminals. This year, 34 have been robbed citywide, according to BPD statistics. The number of armed robberies shot up this year, with 730 victims from Jan. 1 to April 20, up from 692 during the same period in 2005.

[TexasStooge]

Clown Strikes South Suburban Bank

From WBBM CBS 2 in Chicago

PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - He had a clown's funny red hair topped with a yellow sunhat, but police said the south suburbs’ latest bank robber also carried a black handgun when he took a Palos Heights bank for $5,000 Thursday.

The teller was alone at the counter of First Bank, 6521 W. 127th St., when a man in disguise came in at 2 p.m., displayed a black revolver and demanded money, Palos Heights police detective Adam Nagy said.

He also warned her against putting in dye packs, Nagy said.

The teller complied, and within about a minute, the robber walked out the door, Nagy said.

Though not hurt, she was pretty shaken up, he said. There were no customers in the bank at the time.

It's the third bank robbery this year for Palos Heights, Nagy said.

Police reviewed security footage Thursday and canvassed neighboring businesses in the strip mall where the storefront bank sits. They weren't sure how the robber escaped.

A woman at Babes Ice Cream and Chocolates next door in the strip mall said she hadn't seen anyone unusual.

The man was described as white, about 6 feet tall, his head covered with a bright red shoulder-length wig with a floppy hat perched on top.

The man also was wearing a light-colored sweatshirt and some gloves.

Likely he's struck twice before, but he does not appear to be the serial bandit the FBI has nicknamed the "Harry Caray" bandit, Nagy said.

A man wearing a pink hat and matching turtleneck held up a Charter One branch for $11,000 on May 5, according to Bridgeview police.

That man, also gloved and wearing a shoulder-length brown wig, pointed a handgun at tellers when he made his demands, Bridgeview police Det. Robert Tomiczak said.

He also warned the teller not to include dye packs with the cash, he said.

A robber who robbed the same Charter One, 8739 S. Harlem, on April 14, got away with $22,000, Tomiczak said.

The patterns are similar, and images taken from security cameras in both banks point in the same direction. "I feel confident this is the same offender as Bridgeview," Nagy said.

Tomiczak added, "He's getting bolder."

[TexasStooge]

If you're THAT drunk, then don't steal a car!

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - Officers were dumbfounded when they stopped a Polish woman drunk at the wheel of a stolen car, driving on the wrong side of a motorway and without a license, German police said Tuesday.

"I don't think I've ever encountered such an accumulation of traffic offences," said Helmuth Klinger, a police spokesman in the western city of Wiesbaden.

"The normal combination would be to drink and then drive against the traffic, but people who steal a car tend to be a bit more discreet as rule," he added.

The 28-year-old woman was four times over the legal alcohol limit when she was stopped on the highway between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, having driven about five miles against the traffic.
_____________________________________________________________

Need a perfect cure for a hangover? Try a Hamwinkie!

(takes a bite, and spits it in the trash can)

Oh, great...I tried.


Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"

[TexasStooge]

Thief Steals Calif. Homeowner's Front Yard

ADELANTO, California (AP) - It was a sod story for a Mojave Desert homeowner whose entire front yard — grass, bushes and sprinklers — was hauled away by a thief.

The homeowner telephoned law officials to report the yard in front of his under-construction home on was gone, a sheriff's spokeswoman Staci Johnson said Tuesday.

Witnesses told the homeowner they saw the thief taking the sod, plants and irrigation system to a nearby residence, Johnson said.

David Roger Bowers, 34, was arrested at the home and booked for investigation of grand theft and possession of stolen property, the sheriff's spokeswoman said.

The landscaping materials were returned to the victim.

[TexasStooge]

Austin man arrested after 100 mph chase

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – An Austin man was arrested on his 19th birthday Wednesday after leading authorities more than 50 miles on a high-speed chase in which part of Interstate 35 was shut down and several cars were damaged.

Kenneth Traymayne Smith was arrested for reckless driving in Austin and sent to Travis County Jail. Bail has not yet been set.

Comal County Sheriff's Detective John Bailey, the veteran lawman who arrested Smith, said the chase was one of the most dangerous of his career.

Bailey was patrolling I-35 when he saw Smith, driving a 1996 Ford Ranger, approach him from behind.

"He was weaving in and out of traffic, and he was driving on the left (center) shoulder lane," Bailey said in a story in Thursday's Herald-Zeitung.

The detective turned on his lights. Smith slowed down and went onto the frontage road, but he turned under I-35 and took off northbound.

"We started off about 90 mph," Bailey said. "Then he got up to 100 sometimes.

"He was running cars off the road and weaving into gaps where there wasn't nearly enough room," Bailey said.

At one point in San Marcos, Smith drove his truck between a tractor-trailer rig and a car, sideswiping both, authorities said.

Officials were still working late Wednesday afternoon to determine how many vehicles Smith hit, but authorities said he hit at least three in Hays County and as many as three more by the time he made it to Austin.

In northern Hays County just north of Kyle, deputies and Department of Public Safety troopers shut down I-35 and set up a roadblock but Smith avoided it by crossing to the frontage road.

After getting to Austin, Smith left the interstate and blew through several stop lights in city traffic before coming to a "T" in the road, Bailey said.

Smith's truck struck a utility pole and went through a fence before stopping in a yard. Bailey arrested him after a brief scuffle.

As Bailey was cuffing Smith he found out it was Smith's birthday, which didn't elicit a happy birthday response.

"I'm not a 'happy birthday' kind of guy," said Bailey, who never found out why Smith fled in New Braunfels. "I might have said something to him, but I don't think that was it."

Nobody was reported injured in the chase, but there was severe damage to a number of vehicles, including the truck Smith was driving.

A DPS cruiser also was damaged, and the engine in a DPS truck was blown, Bailey said.

[rainstorm]

Thief Steals Calif. Homeowner's Front Yard

ADELANTO, California (AP) - It was a sod story for a Mojave Desert homeowner whose entire front yard — grass, bushes and sprinklers — was hauled away by a thief.

The homeowner telephoned law officials to report the yard in front of his under-construction home on was gone, a sheriff's spokeswoman Staci Johnson said Tuesday.

Witnesses told the homeowner they saw the thief taking the sod, plants and irrigation system to a nearby residence, Johnson said.

David Roger Bowers, 34, was arrested at the home and booked for investigation of grand theft and possession of stolen property, the sheriff's spokeswoman said.

The landscaping materials were returned to the victim.

anyone who wants our weeds can have them

[TexasStooge]

Man Falls Asleep in Coffin at Funeral Home

CANTON, N.Y. (AP) - A man was charged with burglary and criminal mischief Thursday after he allegedly broke into a funeral home and fell asleep in a coffin.

Joel Fish, 20, of Queensbury, was arrested after he was discovered at the O'Leary Funeral Home in Canton, 127 miles north of Syracuse.

Debra White, wife of the home's funeral director Joe White, said she noticed a broken window and open door to the casket display room when she awoke at 6:30 a.m. Inside, she saw a boot and pair of pants on the floor and a pair of knees sticking out of a stainless steel coffin.

Fish, who police said was intoxicated, was treated at Canton-Potsdam hospital for cuts. He was arraigned and released to return to court at a later date.

The funeral home estimates the damage from the burglary, mostly to the coffin, at $4,000.
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Information from WWNY-TV

[TexasStooge]

Canada thief strips, fails to give police the slip

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A Canadian bank robber has discovered that stripping off his clothes in public was not the best way to escape the police.

The man disrobed after robbing a bank in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby on Wednesday, but then was unable to get taxi driver to give him a ride.

"The quick thinking cab driver assessed the fare's unusual clothing, or lack of, and relied on his gut instincts and denied him access to his cab," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

Police said the suspect then attempted to flee the scene via a public transit station, but was spotted by officers and tackled.