The Stupid Crimes & Misdemeanors Thread

[TexasStooge]

Cops: Man Arrested for Playing Loud stuff

By NEELESH MISRA, Associated Press Writer

NEW DELHI, India (AP) - A Finnish man and his Indian girlfriend were arrested in India after neighbors complained that they were playing pornographic movies with the volume turned up too loudly, a police officer said Wednesday.

Exhibiting pornography and possessing pornographic materials are illegal in India. If convicted, the two could face three months in prison and a fine.

The two were arrested Monday night at the Finnish man's home in the town of Gurgaon, a center of India's information technology and outsourcing business, the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Aside from arresting the couple, officers also seized a television and CD player, he said.

The couple, who were not identified, were granted bail Tuesday.

No date has been set for the hearing, said the police officer.

[TexasStooge]

Alleged Thief Nabbed After Leaving Phone

FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - A teenager accused of taking part in a string of automobile burglaries in Fort Smith made it easy for police to find him. He left his cell phone behind.

At least eight vehicles were broken into over the weekend in a Fort Smith neighborhood, and several mo-peds also were stolen.

As police combed through one of the burglarized vehicles, officers found a cell phone that did not belong to the vehicle owner. The phone traced back to Brian Lee Scott Elliot, 18, of Fort Smith, Detective Ron Lockhart said.

While investigating Elliot, police developed three other suspects, Jeffery Hass, 18, and two 16-year-old boys, Lockhart said.

A search warrant for the home of one of the suspects, who lives in the same neighborhood where the break-ins took place, turned up goods that were stolen as well as the missing mo-peds.

Police questioned Elliot and the two 16-year-olds Monday afternoon, and all three were arrested on multiple complaints of residential burglary, theft of property over $2,500 and breaking and entering, Lockhart said. Hass was arrested on multiple complaints of residential burglary, theft of property over $2,500 and breaking and entering, Lockhart said.

[TexasStooge]

Man attempts to impress ex-girlfriend by setting fire

FILMORE COUNTY, Minn. (Court TV) - Perhaps flowers, chocolates and personal gifts were too cliché for one man aiming to impress the woman of his choice.

The Minnesota man attempted to be his ex-girlfriend's knight in shining armor by rescuing her from a blazing fire — except that, according to police, he's the one who set it.

Former police chief John Tuchek, 34, is serving a six-year jail sentence for setting a fire behind his ex-girlfriend Anessa Dahly's apartment building in 2002.

Tuchek admitted lighting a stack of cardboard on fire behind his ex-girlfriend's building, but reportedly said he didn't mean any harm.

He planned a small fire, but the flames melted nearby gas meters initially hidden by the cardboard.

Tuchek then ran upstairs to rescue Dahly and her baby and to warn others in the building.

"[I] wanted to do something that would make [Dahly] proud," Tuchek said.

Fillmore County Attorney Matt Opat said the case is classified as "a hero fire."

"This is when someone starts a fire so people will feel indebted to you," he said.

"He wanted to be the hero."

[TexasStooge]

Man allegedly drops pants in restaurant, eats customers' food

LOWER PAXTON, Penn. (Court TV) - What should you not do at a fast-food restaurant?

For starters, taking off your clothes and eating other patrons' food.

David Waller, 40, of Lower Paxton, Pa., was arrested on indecent exposure and disorderly conduct charges on Oct. 1 after he disrobed, then sat down at a table occupied by two women and a 6-year-old boy and began to eat their lunch, according to police.

Waller allegedly walked into the restaurant located off a local highway and headed toward the restroom.

"When he left the restroom, his shorts were around his knees," Lt. Dave Hogentogler said. "He then went over to a booth and started to eat the food off the table."

Hogentogler said the customers were "obviously shocked," and one woman said, "What are you doing?"

Waller then left the scene. One woman immediately dialed the police, and nearby officers tracked him down in his car.

"Although this is an offbeat and bizarre incident, things like this do occur," Hogentogler said. "Sometimes when something embarrassing happens, people don't always report it to police."

"However, after an arrest is made and publicity gets out, people who have been victims like this are more willing to step forward," Hogentogler said.

Waller is reportedly being held on $25,000 bail.

[TexasStooge]

Police Find Naked Man Hanging From Ceiling

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) - Police responding to an alarm at a cash advance business found a naked man hanging from the ceiling early Thursday morning.

An officer answering the alarm noticed tiles, insulation, wires and metal braces hanging from the roof and on the floor of the Check 'n Go, Darlington Police Lt. Danny Watson said.

A naked man with scrapes all over his body then dropped from the ceiling and tried to open the front door and leave, according to a police report.

"He had a charming story to go along with it though. He said somebody threw his keys on the roof and that's why he was up there," Watson said. "He kind of got a little fuzzy on the 'taking all his clothes off and sliding in the store' part."

Police think 22-year-old Michael Gilbert took off his clothes so he could fit through an air vent on the roof, Watson said.

Gilbert has been charged with burglary. The cash advance business doesn't keep money on the premises, police said.
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Information from: Morning News

[TexasStooge]

Cops Nab Sex Offender Clad in Rope, Feces

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A registered sex offender who fashioned a loin cloth from a rope and piece of lawn furniture was arrested near a high school, where he asked four girls for a ride to the mall or a motel, police said.

Kelly James Bailey, 33, of Greenwater, Wash., was wearing only the rope when he shocked a Medford woman by appearing in her back yard Thursday morning.

Before he left, Bailey, who appeared to be covered in feces, ran away with a strip of leopard-print vinyl peeled from the seat of lawn chair, said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran.

More than an hour later, four North Medford High School girls were waiting in a car near the school when Bailey — now wearing blue jeans, but still covered in the apparent fecal matter — approached the car. He asked the girls for a ride to the Red Carpet Inn or the Rogue Valley Mall.

"The girls wisely rolled up their windows and left," Moran said.

The girls alerted authorities, who spotted Bailey running near campus.

"When we caught him, he still appeared to be covered in fecal matter," Moran said. "He told us, though, he was partying with girls the night before and somehow ended up rolling around in tomato paste."

As officers patted him down, they found that he had used the rope and vinyl strip to make a primitive loin cloth.

"I think it's definitely the strangest case of the day," Moran said.

Bailey was lodged in Jackson County Jail on charges of theft, trespassing, criminal mischief and failing to register as a sex offender in Oregon. He was held on $24,000 bail.

The theft charge was for allegedly taking the vinyl strip, Moran said.
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Information from: Mail Tribune

[TexasStooge]

Robber Pays for Coffee With Stolen Money

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Police are looking for a man who robbed a coffee stand and paid for his cup of java with some of the money he had just stolen.

Police said the man rode his bicycle up to the stand just before 7 a.m. on Thursday and ordered a coffee. He then told the female employee that he had a gun and demanded money.

The attendant handed over an undisclosed amount of cash. Before he left, the man paid for the coffee with the money just handed to him.

The man is described as white, in his mid 20s wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a black beanie cap.

The coffee shop attendant was uninjured.

[TexasStooge]

Police Find Naked Burglar in S.C.

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) - Police responding to an alarm at a cash advance business say they found a naked man hanging from the ceiling.

An officer answering the alarm noticed tiles, insulation, wires and metal braces hanging from the roof and on the floor of the Check 'n Go, Police Lt. Danny Watson said.

A naked man with scrapes all over his body then dropped from the ceiling and tried to open the front door and leave, according to a police report about the incident early Thursday morning.

"He had a charming story to go along with it though," Watson said. "He said somebody threw his keys on the roof and that's why he was up there. He kind of got a little fuzzy on the 'taking all his clothes off and sliding in the store' part."

Police think 22-year-old Michael Gilbert took off his clothes so he could fit through an air vent on the roof, Watson said.

Gilbert has been charged with burglary. The cash advance business doesn't keep money on the premises, police said.

[TexasStooge]

Man in Underwear Arrested Inside School

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - A 31-year-old man is facing burglary charges after being caught inside the Bridge Academy charter school in his underwear. Police said they were responding to an alarm at the school at about 8:15 a.m. Sunday when they found William Hoskins apparently downloading pornography on an office computer.

A duffel bag, clothing and a wallet containing Hoskins' ID, were found on the floor nearby, along with a bucket of urine, police said.

Police said Hoskins told them he went into the school to use the bathroom.

He was held in lieu of $500 bond for an appearance in Superior Court Tuesday.
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Information from: Connecticut Post

[TexasStooge]

Police: Serial Burglar Caught in Sex Act

PITTSBURGH, Penn. (AP) - Police say they caught a serial burglar in the act — a sex act.

Officers found Robert Calloway in the basement of an apartment building he had broken into, police said.

Authorities said Calloway was having sex with a woman. He was charged with Monday's break-in in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, as well as in three others in recent weeks. The woman, Vera Morris, also was charged.

Calloway, 40, matches the description of a man caught on surveillance tape breaking into the basements of other apartment buildings, police said.

In all the cases, Calloway is accused of prying the locks from storage area doors. Sometimes nothing was reported missing; in other cases, a leaf blower, gas can, and tool box were taken, police said. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

Police said Calloway and Morris had opened several storage units in the apartment building's basement and dragged a mattress into a common area. Morris, 47, was charged with criminal trespassing, police spokeswoman Tammy Ewin said.

[TexasStooge]

Crowd Ties Alleged Truck Thief With Hose

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - A man crashed a stolen pickup truck into three vehicles, a light pole and a bridge pillar before a crowd caught him and tied him up with a garden hose, authorities said.

"It was a three-ring circus, it really was," witness Mike Cates said. He said the truck nearly hit him Wednesday before its final collision with a vehicle in a fast food restaurant parking lot.

The suspect was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, failure to stop and render aid, driving under the influence of drugs and driving with a suspended license, said Amarillo Police Cpl. Brian Thomas.

About 20 people chased Joshua G. Smith, 26, before they tied his feet with a garden hose and handcuffed him, witnesses said.

The drivers in two cars were injured.

[TexasStooge]

Police nab alleged 'Perpsicle'

STUART, Florida (Court TV) - Very rarely do suspects welcome their arresting officers with open arms.

But Ari Rayvon Stanberry was not only glad to see the police when he was arrested, he couldn't wait to get into the squad car. Why?

The Florida man had just spent a bone-chilling twenty minutes inside a sub-zero deep freezer.

Sgt. Marty Jacobson, a spokesperson for the Stuart Police Department, said although Stanberry was wanted on an outstanding warrant for a lewd and lascivious battery charge, the 22-year-old man's arrest on Oct. 9 was a coincidence.

An officer was investigating an unrelated shoplifting incident in a grocery store when he spotted Stanberry. The officer made eye contact with the suspect, recognized the man's face from his "wanted" poster and gave chase.

Stanberry, however, eluded the officer, who requested backup to conduct a thorough search of the store. Twenty minutes later, officers decided to search the store's trailer-size deep freezer and found the frozen suspect.

"He had accidentally locked himself inside the freezer," Jacobson said. "His dreadlocks were like little Popsicles."

Stanberry, who Jacobson has nicknamed "the Perpsicle," surrendered willingly; he also asked to be taken into a warm squad car.

He is thawing out in the Martin County Jail without bond.

[TexasStooge]

Woman allegedly fakes kidnap story to avoid date

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (Court TV) - Laura Crews was just not that into her Internet boyfriend.

To get out of meeting the man in person, the Kentucky woman faked an abduction story that prompted a massive police search in two counties. She now faces a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.

According to media reports, Crews, a resident of Nicholasville, Ky., was supposed to fly to Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 17 to meet the man, whose name has not been released. She never boarded the plane, but instead called the man and his mother to tell them that she had been abducted after landing in Kansas City. She had allegedly been raped, stabbed and left bleeding along the highway.

The concerned man called 911 and police launched an extensive foot search of the highway near Kansas City International Airport and also deployed helicopters to conduct an aerial search.

Crews, 18, allegedly repeated her harrowing tale to officers over the phone, but refused to hang up the phone to dial 911 so that officers could determine her location. When investigators later traced the call to Kentucky, they began to suspect that the abduction was a hoax. Media reports said Crews was still on the phone speaking to Missouri authorities when Kentucky officers arrived at her home.

The woman was arrested. Her mother later told reporters that her daughter had a history of "stretching the truth."

If Crews pleads guilty, prosecutors in Platte County, Mo., will ask for community service and restitution for the costs of the search, which is estimated to be over $10,000.

[rainstorm]

Man allegedly drops pants in restaurant, eats customers' food

LOWER PAXTON, Penn. (Court TV) - What should you not do at a fast-food restaurant?

For starters, taking off your clothes and eating other patrons' food.

David Waller, 40, of Lower Paxton, Pa., was arrested on indecent exposure and disorderly conduct charges on Oct. 1 after he disrobed, then sat down at a table occupied by two women and a 6-year-old boy and began to eat their lunch, according to police.

Waller allegedly walked into the restaurant located off a local highway and headed toward the restroom.

"When he left the restroom, his shorts were around his knees," Lt. Dave Hogentogler said. "He then went over to a booth and started to eat the food off the table."

Hogentogler said the customers were "obviously shocked," and one woman said, "What are you doing?"

Waller then left the scene. One woman immediately dialed the police, and nearby officers tracked him down in his car.

"Although this is an offbeat and bizarre incident, things like this do occur," Hogentogler said. "Sometimes when something embarrassing happens, people don't always report it to police."

"However, after an arrest is made and publicity gets out, people who have been victims like this are more willing to step forward," Hogentogler said.

Waller is reportedly being held on $25,000 bail.

was he drunk?

[O Town]

Probably more along the lines of something alot harder than alcohol. Meth or some sort of hallacinaginic. He was off his rocker. Been up for a few days or maybe he was on medication for a mental illness and stop taking his meds. Who knows, but I bet it was alot more the being drunk. I can tell you one thing if it would have been me I would have flipped out. I don't know how I would have handled that, she did a great job in reporting the nut job.

[TexasStooge]

Stewardess Calls in Threat to Get Day Off

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - A SriLankan Airlines stewardess called in a bomb threat because she wanted a day off, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Investigators traced the call and found that it was made from a mobile phone belonging to the stewardess' boyfriend, Colombo's Sunday Times weekly reported.

"The inquiry reveals that the stewardess had given the false alarm because she did not want to fly that day," it said.

The stewardess was fired, it reported.

SriLankan Airlines spokeswoman Ruvini Jayasinghe declined to either confirm or deny the report and referred the call to senior officials, who were not immediately reachable.

In recent months, two bomb threats forced aircraft to return to the ground in Sri Lanka.

On Oct. 3, a London-bound SriLankan Airlines plane returned to Colombo's international airport after a telephone caller said there was a bomb on board. The aircraft landed safely and no explosives were found.

On Sept. 8, one passenger was killed and 20 others were injured in a stampede to evacuate a Saudi Air plane at the same airport after a similar bomb threat.

SriLankan Airlines is 40 percent owned by Dubai-based Emirates Airlines and 60 percent by Sri Lanka's government.

[TexasStooge]

Mole Worn by Alleged Robber Smears

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) - Could a man wearing a black wig, sunglasses and a fake mole on his cheek really be doing a corporate audit on a Wednesday night?

A Rochester McDonald's restaurant manager asked herself that question last week when a man carrying a briefcase entered through a back door, according to a criminal complaint. She asked him for paperwork or identification, but he kept stalling, saying he was from the corporate office.

After about an hour and a half, the man told the manager he was robbing the place, police said. The man ran off — through a 2-foot-deep river — but police caught up with him in the woods.

Now, Michael Adam Skurdahl, 29, of Byron, is charged with one count of aggravated first-degree robbery, one count of making terroristic threats and one count of felony theft.

The manager told police she was skeptical: A mole allegedly worn by Skurdahl smeared when he rubbed it, and he said he wore sunglasses because he had his eyes dilated recently. The manager also told police Skurdahl had pink makeup on his right cheek and had placed tape on his left ear lobe, apparently to cover a piercing.

The manager remained suspicious, especially when he wouldn't present ID or let her call her boss, according to the complaint.

Skurdahl allegedly took the manager to the break room, pulled out a knife without exposing the blade, and told her she was being robbed, police said. He's accused of making her write down her name and address and give him deposit bags from the safe. The manager told police he walked out the door with her and then ran away.

According to the complaint, police found several items either on Skurdahl or in the area where he had fled: a knife, sunglasses, an open black briefcase with a McDonald's labeled money bag, a "McFlurry" sheet with the manager's name and address and a black Halloween wig with a pony tail. Police recovered nearly $7,000.

[TexasStooge]

Man stops carjacking with hot coffee

BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) - A would-be carjacker got quite a jolt when he picked the wrong car to try to steal, Jasper County deputies say. The suspect tapped the window of the car Wednesday morning with a gun and motioned the driver to get out, Chief Deputy Roy Hughes said.

The driver of the car had just bought a cup of hot coffee. So he slammed his door into the carjacker's legs, threw the coffee on him possibly burning the suspect's neck and face, and wrestled him to the ground, Hughes said.

A shot was fired during the scuffle, but no one was hurt. The driver managed to get the gun from the suspect and point it at him, Hughes said.

The suspect ran into the wood behind the store, the chief deputy said.

Deputies are looking for the would-be carjacker along with two people believed to be with him who drove off while the fight was going on, Hughes said.

[TexasStooge]

Man Found With 342 Victoria's Secret Bras

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) - Two off-duty Greenwich police officers thought something was amiss when they saw a New York man hiding behind parked cars and carrying a J.C. Penney bag.

There's no J.C. Penney store near upscale Greenwich, so the officers stopped Ricardo Salazar and searched his van, where they found 342 bras that had allegedly been stolen from Victoria's Secret.

The bras, worth $14,135, were different colors and sizes and cost between $32 and $50 each. Police say Salazar, 25, of Elmhurst, N.Y., is also accused of stealing $856 worth of sleepwear from Victoria's Secret and more than $5,000 worth of shoes from Shoes-n-More.

"I've never heard of anything like this," said Police Lt. Richard Cochran.

Cochran said he's unsure how someone could take so many items from a store without being noticed. Victoria's Secret, citing corporate policy, declined comment.

Police said an employee told them she had seen a couple acting strangely. The woman went through the checkout and left, but the employee did not see the man leave with her.

A store manager at Shoes-n-More said the store's security system did not alert employees that shoes had been taken.

"None of us in the store saw it," the manager said. Thieves "know what they are doing. They are very good about it. You have to be very careful."

Police said Salazar had a device to remove anti-shoplifting tags from items, a misdemeanor.

Salazar told police he was in town to see a friend and go disco dancing. He had no identification and said it had recently been stolen.

He faces first-degree larceny charges and was held on $50,000 bond.

Cochran commended off-duty officers Chris and Christy Girard, who are married, for noticing the J.C. Penney bag and Salazar's odd behavior.

[TexasStooge]

Man Accused of Placing Lewd Photos on Cars

WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) - A 40-year-old man faces charges accusing him of placing photographs of his genitalia on the cars of women who parked at shopping centers.

The criminal complaint filed Thursday against Jeffrey J. Hein of Hartford said he told investigators he placed the photos on their cars because he thought they "would find it funny."

Hein was charged Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court with eight counts of lewd and lascivious behavior and five counts of disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.

The complaint alleges Hein placed the photographs on cars seven different times, with the first occurring on Aug. 25 at a ShopKo store in West Bend and the most recent Tuesday at Hobby Lobby in West Bend.

Other episodes allegedly occurred at Paradise Golf, a Wal-Mart, a Kmart and a Sally Beauty Supply Store, all in West Bend, according to the complaint.

Assistant District Attorney Holly Bunch told Circuit Judge Annette Ziegler during a hearing Thursday at which bail was set at $3,000 that at least 14 additional charges would be filed Friday against Hein.

Other charges could also be filed in other counties, Bunch said.

The criminal complaint said Hein told investigators he was inspired by a pornographic Web site to photograph his private parts and then sell the pictures to the Web site.

But, when he was unable to do that, he "came up with the idea to play a joke on strangers" by putting the photographs in envelopes and attaching them to cars belonging to women, whom he picked at random whenever he went shopping, the complaint said.

Authorities said the vehicles belonged to women ranging in age from their teens to the mid-40s.

Investigators said Hein told them some of the women laughed when they looked at the photos.

If convicted on all counts filed Thursday, Hein could be imprisoned up to five years and nine months and fined up to $85,000. His next court appearance is scheduled Wednesday.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel