The Stupid Crimes & Misdemeanors Thread

[TexasStooge]

Man Charged in Restaurant-Laundry Scam

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A man who police say took restaurant managers to the cleaners for a fake dry cleaning bill has been arrested. Michael Bagwell, who was using the alias Mark Laskowski, carried his dry-cleaning bill to seven suburban Des Moines restaurants earlier this month, police said.

He was charged with theft, perjury and stealing the identity of a former Georgia jail inmate. It's unknown how many times the scam worked, police said.

The investigation also has spread to Illinois, Georgia and Louisiana.

Bagwell went into the Lone Star Steakhouse the first week of June and told the manager that his wife had been in the week before and that a waitress had spilled iced tea on her. He presented a dry cleaning bill for $25.90 and the restaurant's manager, Nicole Graham, apologized and paid the bill.

She became suspicious when Bagwell couldn't remember the zip code for his Clive address, so she watched out the window as he left and saw him go across the road to Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que, where he asked the manager to pay the bill.

Police said four restaurant managers paid the bill.

Bagwell was arrested June 4 after police received calls from Lone Star Steakhouse and Famous Dave's. Police found 14 fake dry cleaning bills in his car, along with identification cards with Bagwell's photograph and four other names.

Police said Bagwell also told officers his name was Mark Matherne, the name of a man released from a Georgia jail in 2004. The car Bagwell was driving was registered to an Illinois woman, who officers couldn't find, police said.

Trial is scheduled for the end of July.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register

[TexasStooge]

Two Charged in Bogus 'Jacka**' Kidnapping

LYKENS, Pa. (AP) - A man and a teenager face criminal charges for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping that recreated a scene from a movie that celebrated stunts and gross-out gags.

A store clerk reported the apparent kidnapping Wednesday, saying that while a customer was paying for gasoline a teenager jumped from the trunk of the man's car with his hands bound and his eyes blindfolded, according to Dauphin County authorities.

The man chased the teen, caught him, threw him back into the trunk and drove off, police said.

However, when officers found Daniel Reedinger and the teen, the pair told authorities they were re-enacting a prank from the 2002 film "Jackass: The Movie," police said.

Reedinger, 31, was charged with creating a false alarm, corruption of minors and disorderly conduct. The 15-year-old, whose name was not released because of his age, was charged with creating a false alarm and disorderly conduct. His case will be handled by juvenile authorities.

[TexasStooge]

Man Accused of Growing Pot at Grandma's

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Cumberland County authorities arrested a man who they say found a fertile spot to grow some illicit herbs — his grandmother's garden.

Cornelius Shaw, 30, is charged with manufacturing marijuana that he allegedly grew in his grandmother's back yard, the sheriff's department said Sunday. He was arrested at her house Friday and was freed on $3,000 bond.

An off-duty sheriff's deputy discovered the weed patch when he was at a yard sale. Tom Zilg glanced into the yard next door and spotted what investigators later established was 25 marijuana plants with a street value of $25,000, according to a department news release.

Investigators said Shaw told his grandmother he was growing tomatoes, and she had no idea what he was really up to.

[TexasStooge]

Pizza Shop Robber Left Job Application

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) - A man accused of holding up a pizza parlor left behind a job application with his real name and address, authorities said.

"I would chalk it up to either inexperience or plain stupidity," Clark County prosecutor Frank Coumou told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Wednesday report.

Alejandro Martinez, 23, of Las Vegas, was being held Wednesday at the Clark County jail pending a Monday appearance in Clark County District Court. He faces felony burglary and robbery with a weapon charges in the May 25 heist.

Authorities said Martinez ordered a pizza and started filling out the application before displaying a gun and demanding money. The clerk handed over $200.

Outside, a witness wrote down the license plate number of a getaway car, leading police to Martinez' home.

Martinez' lawyer, Deputy Public Defender James Ruggeroli, said authorities have the wrong man. He said said the pizza shop clerk couldn't identify Martinez as the robber, and the job application was not presented as evidence at a preliminary hearing.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal

[TexasStooge]

Man Falls Asleep During 18th DWI Arrest

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A man arrested after a traffic stop fell asleep before an officer arrived to administer a field sobriety test. But authorities say James Lovato, 50, had been through it before — it was his 18th arrest on a charge of drunken driving.

The DWI Resource Center, which tracks drunken driving convictions back to 1984, said Lovato has been convicted at least eight times. State records show his first arrest was in 1977. In addition, a criminal complaint against him in the latest arrest said his license has been revoked seven times.

He was charged in Saturday's incident with aggravated driving while intoxicated on a fourth or subsequent offense.

A breath test found his breath-alcohol level was 0.16 percent, twice the state's presumed level of intoxication.

Lovato was driving on a revoked license when police said they clocked him at 77 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 25 north of Albuquerque.

A complaint filed in metropolitan court said police had to force Lovato's car to the side of the road to get him to stop. Police then noticed an open beer bottle near the driver's seat, and said Lovato's eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled of alcohol.

The complaint said three open containers of beer were found in the car.

Police also said Lovato fell asleep by the time a DWI officer arrived to administer the sobriety test.

Lovato pleaded guilty last year to a charge of fourth or subsequent offense DWI and was sentenced last October to 12 months in a community custody program followed by probation.

[TexasStooge]

Fleeing thief not mother of the year

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A woman shoplifter in Germany abandoned her three-month-old baby after being caught stealing from a supermarket, authorities said Friday.

"When the security man told the woman to enter his office so he could check her identification, the perpetrator took off, leaving behind the baby and the pram," police in the town of Offenbach just south of Frankfurt said in a statement.

Police managed to track down the 36-year-old Bulgarian after she left her identification in the pram, German media said. She was reunited with her baby and released pending her trial.

[TexasStooge]

Man With Bong Attacks Police Dispatcher

GERMANTOWN, Wis. (AP) - A 22-year-old man was wrestled to the ground in the Germantown Police Department Friday afternoon after threatening a dispatcher with a glass bong and a shotgun, police said.

The man walked into the department and handed a threatening note to the dispatcher at a her window around 5 p.m., police said.

As she read the note, he threw a glass bong at the bulletproof glass, police said. The bong shattered, but the window did not. He then pulled out a shotgun, but three officers using a taser and pepper spray were able to subdue him, police said.

"He did have his finger on the trigger but they were able to control him," said Germantown Police Chief Peter Hoell.

The man had been arrested several times in the past on burglary, disorderly conduct and drug charges, but the motive for Friday's attack was unclear, Hoell said.

[TexasStooge]

Police Catch Thieves With Fake Callback

FREMONT, Calif. (AP) - What's the best way to catch a thief? Call him back for a job interview. That's what Fremont police tried when they learned that two job applicants were suspected of swiping an office worker's wallet.

Timothy Wash, 22, and his pal Andrew Gonzalez, 18, used the victim's credit card to buy boxers and gift cards at Target, and topped off the shopping spree with frappuccinos at Starbucks, according to investigators.

Police suggested the firm that reported the theft call the pair back for a second job interview. Gonzalez and Wash showed up at the office Wednesday and found detectives waiting for them.

The two confessed and police recovered the missing property at Wash's home, detectives said.

Police charged the pair with conspiracy, burglary, forgery and identify theft. Wash was arraigned in Fremont Friday and is being held at the Alameda County jail. Gonzalez' status could not be immediately ascertained.

[TexasStooge]

Police: Cashier traps robber by thumb

AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A quick-thinking Denny's cashier thwarted a robbery by slamming the man's thumb in the cash drawer, trapping him while she yelled for help, police records show.

According to a police affidavit, Duane Eric Roper ate at the restaurant on Thursday and then asked the cashier for change for a dollar. When she opened the drawer, he allegedly pulled out a box cutter and demanded all the money.

As the suspect reached into the drawer, the cashier slammed it shut and yelled for her help. A customer called 911 while a manager freed the man and told him to leave.

The suspect left the restaurant empty handed, and the manager and customer who called 911 followed him on foot, relaying his description and whereabouts to emergency dispatchers. Roper was arrested a short time later.

Roper, 42, remained jailed Sunday on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony. Bail was set at $20,000.

Police said Roper admitted he threatened the Denny's cashier and robbed a store at an Austin mall. He was charged with robbery by threat, a second-degree felony, in connection with the mall holdup.

Roper faces five years to life in prison if convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. He faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted of robbery by threat.

[TexasStooge]

Alleged Drunk Driver Interrupts Funeral

NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) - An altercation developed after a car whose driver is accused of being intoxicated interrupted the procession for the funeral of a man killed last week — in a traffic accident alleged to have involved a drunken driver.

The altercation happened Tuesday afternoon during the funeral of David L. Weems, who died June 23.

Police, who were escorting the funeral procession, said that a car driven by David C. Casey, 22, allegedly ran a stop sign. The car interrupted the procession before crashing into a pharmacy near the city's downtown square.

At first it was believed that the hearse carrying Weems' body had been hit, but that was not the case. As police were checking, members of the dead man's family started getting out of their vehicles to confront occupants of the car that crashed into the pharmacy.

Additional officers were dispatched to help break up an altercation that police said involved close to 30 mourners.

Casey left the area and police found him about two blocks away. The police report said he denied involvement in the accident but agreed to a field sobriety test. The report said the test, conducted an hour after the accident, showed his blood alcohol content at 0.136 percent, well above Missouri's .08 legal limit.

Casey was arrested on misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to have insurance and driving through a funeral procession.

___

Information from: The Joplin Globe

[CentralFlGal]

Ice Rink Zamboni Operator Charged With DUI

POSTED: 10:33 am PDT June 29, 2005

NEWARK, N.J. -- You can't drive with alcohol in your system, even if the vehicle is a four-ton ice-cleaning machine at a skating rink.

Zamboni operator John Peragallo was charged with drunken driving after a fellow employee at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown called police and reported that the machine was speeding and nearly crashed into the boards.

Police arrived after Peragallo had parked the machine after grooming the ice during a break in a public skating session.

Police said Peragallo's blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent. Levels of 0.08 percent and above are considered legally drunk.

Zamboni privileges were revoked for Peragallo, 63, who has worked for the Morris County park system since 1994.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[TexasStooge]

Kissing couple helps catch suspected robbers

HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/KHOU-TV)Two suspects picked the wrong couple to rob Wednesday night when they interrupted a couple's romantic moment.

At around midnight, the couple was in their car, kissing in the lot of an apartment complex in northwest Harris County near Houston.

Two men, one with a gun and one with a knife approached them. The suspects took cash and some of the couple's personal belongings and began to drive away.

The couple went after the suspects, using their car to rear end the suspects' Honda Civic; that tore the rear bumper from the suspects' car.

"We called the Sheriff's department and told them we had the suspect vehicle and of course, that's when they showed up, inventoried the vehicle, found some drugs in there, arrested them and brought them back to the scene," says tow truck driver Rick Petre.

Thanks to the tow truck operator, the suspects are now in police custody.

[TexasStooge]

Cashier thwarts robber with cup of coffee

ZAGREB (Reuters) - A shop clerk armed with a pair of scissors and a cup of coffee foiled a robbery in the Croatian capital Zagreb Thursday, state news agency Hina reported.

A man in a motorcycle helmet entered the corner shop brandishing a knife and told the cashier to hand over the money in the till, Hina said, quoting a police report.

"The collected and brave shop-clerk, 50, pointed a pair of scissors at him, then took a cup of hot coffee in her other hand and poured it on him," the report said. The robber ran off with only her mobile phone.

[TexasStooge]

Change of clothes foils suspected bank robber

SAGINAW, Mich. (Court TV) - A bank robber with the bright idea to switch clothes after a robbery attempt encountered a snag — he had an eyewitness.

The suspect, James Alvin Ashford, allegedly robbed a Bank One in Saginaw, Mich., on June 27 at about 10 a.m. He entered the bank dressed in a black T-shirt and black shorts, and also wore black nylon stockings over his face, Police Detective Sgt. Mark Lively said.

Ashford indicated to two tellers that he had a weapon and instructed them to give him money. He fled after collecting $3864, which he stuffed into a backpack.

However, a woman standing outside the bank had observed the robbery and saw Ashford run into a nearby backyard. She then watched the bank robber reappear on a mountain bike dressed in blue jeans and a white T-shirt.

When officers arrived at the bank, the woman gave them a description of Ashford's new attire, Sgt. Lively said. The bike-riding bandit was apprehended about three blocks away.

Police recovered the money and the suspect's old clothes, but did not find any weapons. Ashford was charged with robbery and is being held without bond at the Saginaw County Jail.

[TexasStooge]

Man allegedly drives electric shopping cart through store

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (Court TV) - Police in Devils Lake, N.D., arrested Clifford Mattson after he turned his local Leevers Supermarket into a speedway. His vehicle was one of the store's electric shopping carts.

Mattson, 27, was allegedly intoxicated when he entered the store with a skateboard on June 27 and repeatedly attempted to use a telephone, according to Devils Lake police detective Susan Schwab.

When a store employee tried to eject him from the store, Mattson grabbed a shopping cart and began driving through the aisles. He ran into a shopper — the woman was not injured — and chased other customers around the store.

"He took off after them, laughing and pointing," Schwab said.

An officer dispatched to the store arrived to find Mattson talking to the store's manager near the cash register. Detective Schwab said it was unclear how or why Mattson's joyride had ended. The officer arrested the man and charged him with disorderly conduct.

Mattson was held under a 24-hour detoxification order. He faces 30 days in jail and a $500 fine for the incident.

[TexasStooge]

Man accused of flashing returns to crime scene, gets arrested

ROSENBURG, Texas (Court TV) - A Texas man who allegedly exposed himself to female employees at a bakery four different times was apprehended during his fifth visit.

Maybe it was something in the empanadas.

Real Freeman Ransom II first visited the Trinity Bakery on June 14 at about 3:30 p.m. and approached the lone female employee. He allegedly stepped back from the counter, pulled up one side of his jogging shorts and showed the woman his penis. He then apologized, ordered two empanadas and left.

Carol Rees, a spokesperson for the Rosenberg Police Department, said Ransom returned the next day and exposed himself again to the same woman, who then reported the two incidents to police. Ransom reportedly encountered a different female employee during his third and fourth visits.

"He probably chose the store because it's located in an isolated area and it's usually just one female employee inside," Rees said.

When the alleged flasher returned to the store a fifth time, the employee was not alone. A Rosenberg detective was showing the woman a lineup of possible suspects.

Rees said the employee, who only spoke Spanish, began gesturing wildly at Ransom. Although the detective was waiting for an interpreter at the time, he was able to understand that the woman was identifying the suspect.

The officer detained Ransom until an arrest warrant was issued. Ransom was then arrested and charged with indecent exposure. He posted $4000 bond the next day.

If convicted, he faces a $2000 fine and up to six months in jail. He'd also have to register as a sex offender for ten years.

[TexasStooge]

Bank robbery suspect writes name in hold-up note

WINONA, Minn. (Court TV) - Even if Winona police had been unable to locate Thomas Mason two blocks away from the bank he robbed, he revealed enough information during the crime to get a search going.

The 37-year-old Minnesota man wrote his name on the holdup note.

According to Winona Deputy Police Chief Paul Bostrack, Mason walked into a bank at on June 18 and gave the teller a note that read, "Hi, I am Thomas Mason." The note also included a demand for $1000 in $100 and $20 bills and a threat to return with a weapon.

Mason collected the cash and walked across the street into a grocery store. Bank employees contacted police, who arrived at the store but were unable to find Mason inside. They found him about 22 minutes later in the alley behind a liquor store drinking beer with $100 worth of lottery tickets that he had purchased from the grocery store.

When Officer Chris Stark approached Mason, the bank robber reportedly said, "I think I'm the guy you want." The holdup note and $813 in cash were recovered from the suspect.

Mason was charged with aggravated robbery and making terrorist threats. He is being held at the Winona County Jail on $30,000 bail.

[TexasStooge]

Cellphone chatter leads to robbers arrest

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. (Court TV) - Can you hear us now?

An activated cellphone led police in Neptune Beach, Fla., to Edward Dolansky and Shannon Metz after the couple mugged the device's owner on June 19.

According to a police report, the victim, Daniel Juliana, was pulling into his driveway at about 3 a.m. when Dolanksy, 28, approached him with a gun and demanded his wallet and cellphone. Juliana was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time and kept the device on as he gave it to the robber, who then fled.

However, the victim's girlfriend remained on the line and listened as Dolanksy and his female accomplice made plans to stop at a local Wal-Mart and also to cash a check found in Juliana's wallet.

The woman arrived at the scene of the robbery and helped contact Neptune Beach Police with information about the suspects' location. Officers arrested Dolansky and his companion, Shannon Metz, in Wal-Mart's parking lot. Juliana identified Dolanksy as his assailant, and his cellphone and wallet were located in the suspect's vehicle, the report said.

Dolansky and Metz were taken to the Duval County Detention Center and charged with armed robbery.

[TexasStooge]

Man threatens woman for her underwear

BILLINGS, Mont. (Court TV) - Ran'd James Urban's request was so unusual even his victim thought she heard it wrong.

The 21-year-old Montana man allegedly accosted the woman at knife point on June 22 and demanded her underwear.

According to the newspaper, The Billings Gazette, Urban, a transient, approached the woman near the local post office and said, "Give me your panties or give them to me at knifepoint."

The victim thought Urban was asking for pennies and attempted to give the man money. Urban then produced a folding knife from his pocket, the report said.

Urban fled on a mountain bike when a customer exited the post office. The woman contacted authorities. When Urban was arrested he told officers that the knife had fallen out of his pocket when he asked the woman for cigarettes.

Police charged the would-be panty robber with felony robbery and are holding him on $10,000 bail.

[TexasStooge]

Sapulpa Judge Finds Clown Costume No Laughing Matter

SAPULPA (AP) - A Sapulpa municipal judge apparently didn't think it was funny when a Sapulpa man arrived in court dressed as a clown.

Steve Brown was scheduled to be in municipal court Thursday for a speeding ticket he received last month. He showed up wearing clown makeup, a red ball nose, a curly blue wig, a police uniform shirt and a toy badge.

Several police officers warned Brown that Judge Stefanie Lorbiecki wouldn't take kindly to his attire and he would be arrested.

After entering the courtroom, Brown was arrested without incident on complaints of contempt of court and obstructing a police officer.

A jail official says Brown was sentenced to 10 days in jail, but was ordered yesterday to undergo a mental evaluation.