The Stupid Crimes & Misdemeanors Thread

[TexasStooge]

Man threatens police with potato peeler

AUGUSTA, Maine (Court TV) - Felix Miranda would be a dangerous man ... to a room full of potatoes.

But to police officers in Augusta, Maine, he was just a suspect wielding a potato peeler.

Augusta Police Major Robert Gregoire said officers responding to a domestic call at Miranda's home on March 26 encountered the 24-year-old man in his front yard holding the "deadly" kitchen utensil.

Miranda, who reportedly appeared intoxicated, dropped the peeler, informed officers that he had a knife and retreated into his home. Officers followed the man into his kitchen, where he retrieved a large knife and advanced toward the officers. After ignoring several verbal commands to drop the weapon, Miranda was subdued with a Taser gun, Gregoire said.

The suspect was arrested and charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and with violation of conditional release.

[TexasStooge]

Police: Drug suspect asked if he was wanted

CARMEL, N.Y. (Court TV) - Police officers can only hope for more suspects like Gary Brunner.

Brunner reportedly walked into the Putnam Country Sheriff's Office on March 9 and said to an officer, "I hear you folks are looking for me."

The resident of Carmel, N.Y., reportedly was responding to a warrant issued after he failed to pay a $100 fine for a harassment charge stemming from a dispute with his girlfriend. But Brunner's appearance would not have been so voluntary if he had known that he was wanted on felony drug trafficking charges.

According to Captain William McNamara, Brunner allegedly sold $100 worth of cocaine to an undercover deputy on Dec. 30, and another $120 worth on Jan. 6. Both incidents were part of a surveillance operation to gather evidence against the suspect.

When Brunner appeared at the sheriff's office, he had only heard about the less serious of the two warrants and assumed he would merely be paying off the outstanding fine.

Capt. McNamara said Brunner was arrested immediately and charged with felony criminal possession and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. Both charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $30,000.

Brunner was arraigned on the same day and held on $20,000 cash bail or $40,000 bond. He is still in the Putnam County Jail.

[rainstorm]

[quote="TexasStooge"]Man threatens police with potato peeler

AUGUSTA, Maine (Court TV) - Felix Miranda would be a dangerous man ... to a room full of potatoes.

But to police officers in Augusta, Maine, he was just a suspect wielding a potato peeler.

Augusta Police Major Robert Gregoire said officers responding to a domestic call at Miranda's home on March 26 encountered the 24-year-old man in his front yard holding the "deadly" kitchen utensil.

Miranda, who reportedly appeared intoxicated, dropped the peeler, informed officers that he had a knife and retreated into his home. Officers followed the man into his kitchen, where he retrieved a large knife and advanced toward the officers. After ignoring several verbal commands to drop the weapon, Miranda was subdued with a Taser gun, Gregoire said.

The suspect was arrested and charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and with violation of conditional release.[/quote

i have killed many potatoes

[TexasStooge]

Singapore doctor jailed for secret lewd pictures

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore doctor who used his mobile phone camera to secretly film up the skirts of women was jailed for two months, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Straits Times said the 41-year-old doctor was persistently walking close to a 20-year-old woman at a supermarket, carrying a grocery basket with his mobile phone facing up inside the basket, and positioning it close to the victim's legs.

Earlier that day the consultant radiologist had taken shots of his 25-year-old female colleague who had brought documents for him.

Last year the doctor also used his mobile phone to stealthily record a video of a woman showering. The defence lawyer told the court that the doctor had committed the offences out of stress.

[TexasStooge]

Victorious Oxford president arrested for drunken antics

LONDON (Reuters) - The Oxford University boat club president has been arrested and fined after his drunken celebrations following victory over Cambridge in the annual Boat Race turned rowdy.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said two men had been arrested in the early hours of Wednesday, Apr. 5 in Oxford city center for acting in a drunken and disorderly fashion and causing criminal damage.

The police spokesman said he could not confirm the names of the men involved but Barney Williams was quoted in Thursday's London Evening Standard saying he regretted his actions.

Thames Valley police said the two men, aged 29 and 22, were fined 80 pounds ($140.2).

"We had a little too much to drink," Williams, 29, told the Standard newspaper.

"(We) were not in any condition to get ourselves home and thankfully the wonderful police in Oxford made sure we ended up in a safer place than the side of the road."

Former world champion Williams was in the Canadian crew which won silver at the 2004 Olympic Games behind Matthew Pinsent's British coxless four.

Oxford won the Boat Race last Sunday, beating favorites Cambridge by five lengths.

[TexasStooge]

Inmate Allegedly Tries to Hire a Hit Man

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A man in jail on charges of threatening to blow up the county courthouse was accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill four people and beat up his brother, authorities said.

William D. Mayercheck actually contacted an undercover police officer, not a hit man, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Mayercheck, 63, of New Stanton, was arraigned on five counts of criminal solicitation and related charges.

According to court documents, an informant in the Westmoreland County Prison told county Detective Terry Kuhns in December that Mayercheck intended to hire a hit man to kill several people who were causing him legal problems.

Kuhns provided a telephone number to the informant and, the next day, Mayercheck phoned the officer from a pay phone inside the prison, according to court documents. Authorities allege that Mayercheck, who nicknamed himself "Bloodhound," gave the purported assassin a list of five people.

Prosecutors said he wanted the man to kill his ex-wife, his brother's girlfriend, his court-appointed psychiatrist, and another man whom Mayercheck accused of stealing his car and motorcycle. Mayercheck also wanted his brother's arms broken, prosecutors said.

Mayercheck's family said he isn't a criminal.

"He was just depressed and despondent over his divorce," said Dr. Joseph Mayercheck, who was allegedly targeted by his brother. "He needed some treatment. After he got that treatment, he was fine."

Mayercheck was jailed in October on terroristic threat charges, accused of threatening to blow up the courthouse with a pipe bomb. Prosecutors said he sent another man to buy dynamite to build bombs that would be placed at the courthouse and at the Greensburg law office of his ex-wife's attorney.

A judge in December committed Mayercheck to a state hospital for mental treatment for 60 days.

A preliminary hearing on the latest charges is scheduled for April 13. Mayercheck remains in the county prison.

[TexasStooge]

Mailman Jailed for Hoarding Postal Items

LONDON, England (AP) - A mailman who hoarded thousands of letters and parcels at his home was jailed for four months on Friday. Christopher Meek, 19, admitted hoarding 13,819 postal items, saying he had taken them home because his mailbag was too heavy for him to carry.

He was arrested in December after the Royal Mail received complaints from people who had not received Christmas gifts sent through the mail, prosecutors told Sunderland Magistrates' Court in northern England.

Meek opened more than 1,400 of the items and stole the contents, including compact disks and DVDs, jewelry and gift vouchers, prosecutors said.

"When he was interviewed he denied any wrongdoing, saying the work was too heavy and he had always intended returning the mail," said prosecutor Paul Herron. "He admitted spending the money he had stolen and giving other items away."

Meek's lawyer, Peter Thubron, said his client — who is short and slight — had struggled to carry his mailbag and had taken the mail items home to deliver later but then let the situation get out of control.

Magistrate Alex Hendry told Meek he had "brought unhappiness to a lot of people."

[TexasStooge]

Police: Man grabbed jogger's backside

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (Court TV) - We've all heard about drive-by shootings. But thanks to David Vanfossen, residents of Hillsborough County, Florida, have to worry about drive-by gropings.

At about 9:30 a.m. on April 1, the 19-year-old Taco Bell cook allegedly made physical contact with the buttocks of a female jogger. The jogger turned out to be a deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Debbie Carter, a sheriff's spokesperson, said when Vanfossen spotted the deputy jogging down the street, he repositioned his vehicle and followed the woman. He drove up behind the victim, reached out the driver's-side window and groped the woman's backside with his left hand.

Although the attack caused the woman to fall, she was able to get the car's tag number and a description of Vanfossen, who drove off. The deputy contacted the sheriff's office with her cellphone and reported the assault.

Vanfossen was arrested at his home at about 1:30 p.m. The suspect reportedly admitted to driving the vehicle and apologized to the deputy, Carter said.

The Tampa man was charged with misdemeanor battery, reckless driving, lewd and lascivious behavior, and culpable negligence. He is currently in the Hillsborough County Jail on $7500 bond.

[TexasStooge]

Alleged car thief drives stolen car to court

MIAMI, Fla. (Court TV) - Although he was in the middle of a crack-smoking haze, Thomas Mink still had enough mental wherewithals to be concerned about punctuality. The Miami man was due in court the morning of March 30 for a hearing about an alleged car theft and battery incident that occurred in January.

But he may have left the rest of his good judgment behind at the crack house because his choice of vehicle to get to court on time was another stolen car, according to police.

Miami Police spokesperson Officer Herminia Salas-Jacobson said Minks, 32, was unaware that the Mercedes he stole was outfitted with a GPS tracking system. The company that monitors the tracking device alerted Miami police after the car's owner reported his vehicle stolen.

Officers tracked the car to the parking lot of the Miami-Dade Justice Building, where Minks was reportedly about to drive away. Jacobson said several squad cars blocked the Mercedes' exit and thwarted the alleged car thief's escape.

According to the newspaper the Miami Herald, Minks told a television news crew present during his arrest that he had been in a crack house that morning when he realized that he was due in court.

"I'm still halfway cracked up when I got here," Minks reportedly said.

The alleged car thief was charged with aggravated assault for nearly running down two officers during his attempted escape, one charge of grand theft auto and a charge of fleeing and eluding.

[TexasStooge]

Drunken woman crawls into police car

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Court TV) - Lauren Yoder stumbled upon a little-known fact about police squad cars: Anyone who climbs into their back seats should expect to stay there until he or she is let out.

Yoder, 20, was allegedly intoxicated when she crawled into a fully marked squad car around 2:00 a.m. on March 31. However, the Bloomington, Ind., woman soon found herself unable to exit the vehicle.

According to Bloomington Police Captain Joe Qualters, squad cars are designed to keep occupants of the back seats locked in and thus cannot be opened from the inside.

Two witnesses who saw Yoder climb into the unoccupied car, which was located in the station's parking lot, approached an officer and informed him of the car's new occupant.

The officer let the woman out of the car and reportedly detected a strong odor of alcohol. Qualters said Yoder was unable to answer questions about her name or address and was not aware that she had entered a police car.

Yoder was placed under arrest and taken to the Monroe County Jail. She was charged with public intoxication and with illegal consumption of alcohol. The drinking age limit in Indiana is 21.

[rainstorm]

Singapore doctor jailed for secret lewd pictures

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore doctor who used his mobile phone camera to secretly film up the skirts of women was jailed for two months, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Straits Times said the 41-year-old doctor was persistently walking close to a 20-year-old woman at a supermarket, carrying a grocery basket with his mobile phone facing up inside the basket, and positioning it close to the victim's legs.

Earlier that day the consultant radiologist had taken shots of his 25-year-old female colleague who had brought documents for him.

Last year the doctor also used his mobile phone to stealthily record a video of a woman showering. The defence lawyer told the court that the doctor had committed the offences out of stress.

he needs a valium

[TexasStooge]

Accused Burglar Takes Cameras, Leaves Tape

ELKO, Nev. (AP) - A man accused of burglarizing a laundromat in Elko figured he made a clean escape over the weekend when he took off with the store's six video surveillance cameras.

But it turns out he left some rather compelling evidence behind — the video machine and videotape that recorded his face each time he stood in front of the cameras at the Southside Laundry.

Elko police said they came away with several close-ups of the suspect, Robert Lynn White, 52, Elko.

And even if the portraits were a little fuzzy, police said they would have been able to easily identify him because he was wearing cowboy chaps and a trench coat, the usual attire he wears around town.

Police are still working to recover the missing cameras but in the meantime they have arrested White on suspicion of grand larceny. The store is owned by Elko County Commissioner John Ellison.

[TexasStooge]

Pilot caught trying to fly plane while drunk

MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian low-cost airline suspended a pilot after he was found drunk shortly before he was due to fly an aircraft with about 100 passengers on board, officials said Wednesday.

The surprise Tuesday check at Mumbai airport -- India's busiest -- threw up several minor violations of safety norms by airlines, including an instance of a pilot in another low-cost carrier trying to fly in a T-shirt because his only uniform had gone to the laundry.

While aviation officials let most offenders off with a warning, Captain N. Ronaldo, a South American pilot flying an Air Deccan aircraft from Mumbai to the eastern city of Kolkata, was referred for "action" after being found drunk on duty.

"We have suspended the pilot after a breath-analyzer showed he had alcohol beyond the permissible levels," Air Deccan spokesperson Vijaya Menon told Reuters.

Indian aviation rules do not allow pilots to drink 12 hours before a flight. It was not immediately known how much liquor the pilot had consumed.

India's civil aviation sector has expanded rapidly in the past three years with several new private airlines looking at home and abroad for new pilots.

[TexasStooge]

Man Accused Trying to Steal Back His Dog

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - When Thomas Carroll couldn't come up with the $125 in fines and fees to bail his pet Weimaraner out of the dog pound, investigators say he broke into the pound to free his pooch and three others.

The dogs' liberation didn't last long, and authorities soon caught up with Carroll, charging the Glen Carbon man Tuesday with two felony burglary counts. Carroll, 20, remained jailed Wednesday on $50,000 bond.

Madison County Sheriff's Lt. Brad Wells said animal control officers told Carroll on April 5 they had picked up his dog, Titus, after finding him running loose. Five days later, on Monday, workers at the Metro East Humane Society in Edwardsville and at the county's neighboring animal-control building found that someone had broken into their buildings, Wells said.

Nothing was taken from the Humane Society, though Titus and three other dogs were missing from animal control, Wells said. Carroll quickly became a suspect and investigators think he freed the three other strays as a distraction to cover his tracks.

Titus was to be returned to Madison County and be put up for adoption, Wells said.

Carroll did not have an attorney of record as of Wednesday morning, a Madison County Circuit Court clerk said.

[rainstorm]

Man Accused Trying to Steal Back His Dog

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - When Thomas Carroll couldn't come up with the $125 in fines and fees to bail his pet Weimaraner out of the dog pound, investigators say he broke into the pound to free his pooch and three others.

The dogs' liberation didn't last long, and authorities soon caught up with Carroll, charging the Glen Carbon man Tuesday with two felony burglary counts. Carroll, 20, remained jailed Wednesday on $50,000 bond.

Madison County Sheriff's Lt. Brad Wells said animal control officers told Carroll on April 5 they had picked up his dog, Titus, after finding him running loose. Five days later, on Monday, workers at the Metro East Humane Society in Edwardsville and at the county's neighboring animal-control building found that someone had broken into their buildings, Wells said.

Nothing was taken from the Humane Society, though Titus and three other dogs were missing from animal control, Wells said. Carroll quickly became a suspect and investigators think he freed the three other strays as a distraction to cover his tracks.

Titus was to be returned to Madison County and be put up for adoption, Wells said.

Carroll did not have an attorney of record as of Wednesday morning, a Madison County Circuit Court clerk said.

he barked up the wrong tree

[TexasStooge]

7-time drunk driver gets 4 years in prison

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A 59-year-old father arrested seven times for drunk driving has been sentenced to four years in prison after his latest conviction.

Harold "Mickey" Moore, who's also been arrested at least twice for public intoxication, was also given 10 years probation Thursday and a firm warning from state District Judge George Gallagher to never drink again.

"The minute you get out, I'm going to be watching you," Gallagher said.

Moore was already serving 10 years probation for two previous DWIs – served within six days of each other in 1998 – when he was caught driving drunk again in December 2004. Eight days later, he was arrested on his seventh DWI charge since 1992.

Moore's daughter, Angela, said during sentencing that her father wasn't an alcoholic and that he would never drink again.

Tarrant County prosecutor Kelly Loftus, who had sought 20 years for Moore's last two arrests, called the sentence "truly a gift."

[TexasStooge]

Bank Heist Suspects Toss Cash in Chase

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Three bank robbery suspects were arrested after tossing money and a handgun out of their speeding getaway truck in a rush-hour freeway chase.

Two gunmen held Wells Fargo tellers Thursday at gunpoint while an accomplice waited outside the bank.

Police gave chase as the trio fled with an undisclosed amount of cash on Interstate 680 through neighboring cities of Milpitas and Fremont. After reversing course, they flung $1, $20 and $100 bills and a gun from the truck before surrendering.

"We don't know if they were trying to create a distraction, but our focus was to stay within their range," San Jose police spokesman Enrique Garcia said.

A section of the freeway was closed for two hours as officers stuffed cash in plastic bags.

The suspects' identities were not released.
___

Information from: San Jose Mercury News

[TexasStooge]

Diaper Dumper Strikes Again in Wisconsin

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. (AP) - A small stretch of this Wisconsin village might want to change its name to "Mount Unpleasant" now that the diaper dumper has struck again.

Residents along Braun Road report 12 to 15 of the used adult diapers have shown up in the grassy ditch, apparently dumped in the middle of the night. Similar activity had been reported to The Journal Times of Racine in January before it stopped, at least temporarily.

Police haven't received any reports about the latest incidents, said Lt. Wally Sparks when reached Thursday night.

The road is near Interstate 94, providing quick access and escape for whoever dumps the diapers, he said, and the area is not conducive to use of a surveillance camera to catch the culprit on video.

"It's a rural stretch of road," Sparks said. "Obviously you can't cover a quarter or half mile with a camera."

He said there was little police could do, unless a witness can provide a vehicle description or license plate number, which has not yet happened.

Anyone caught doing the dumping likely would be cited for violating the village's littering ordinance, he said.

[TexasStooge]

Police Find Shopper in Suspended Ceiling

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) - A woman apparently didn't want to leave a discount store on Thursday.

At about 11:30 a.m., authorities responded to a call from a Pamida store employee reporting that a woman was trying to pass a bad check, Fergus Falls Police Capt. Steve Adams said.

The 36-year-old woman was in the checkout line on Thursday when squad cars showed up. Rather than leaving the store through its front doors, she bolted for the back of the store, Adams said.

Using a police dog, police found her in the suspended ceiling around 4 p.m. The woman was taken to the Otter Tail County Detention Center.

[rainstorm]

7-time drunk driver gets 4 years in prison

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A 59-year-old father arrested seven times for drunk driving has been sentenced to four years in prison after his latest conviction.

Harold "Mickey" Moore, who's also been arrested at least twice for public intoxication, was also given 10 years probation Thursday and a firm warning from state District Judge George Gallagher to never drink again.

"The minute you get out, I'm going to be watching you," Gallagher said.

Moore was already serving 10 years probation for two previous DWIs – served within six days of each other in 1998 – when he was caught driving drunk again in December 2004. Eight days later, he was arrested on his seventh DWI charge since 1992.

Moore's daughter, Angela, said during sentencing that her father wasn't an alcoholic and that he would never drink again.

Tarrant County prosecutor Kelly Loftus, who had sought 20 years for Moore's last two arrests, called the sentence "truly a gift."

the sentence does appear rather light