March 14, 2011 | 4:56 pm ET - By MELISSA TRAYNOR, mtraynor@courant.com The Hartford Courant via FOX8/Cleveland

East Hartford, CT - Police say a man who purchased cocaine and believed he was taken advantage of by the dealer called 911 to complain about the transaction.

Antonio Recinos, 35, originally called 911 around 1 a.m. on Sunday to report that he had purchased about .4 grams of cocaine for $40 earlier in the evening and felt "cheated."  According to the incident report, Recinos called 911 but later spotted an officer on patrol near 860 Main St. and approached him. Recinos appeared to have been drinking. He showed the officer a small, clear bag with a white powder inside, which police were later able to confirm was cocaine.

Recinos' focus was that he had not received the adequate amount of cocaine for the $40 he paid to the dealer, the report states.  He was arrested around 3 a.m. on Sunday and was charged with possession of narcotics.

(Thanks MELISSA LORENZ/Kent State!)

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BMW Thief Caught After Running Out of Gas

Mar 14, 2011 | 11:34 am CT

Sun-Times Media Wire

St. Charles, IL - St. Charles police have arrested Brian D. Nord for allegedly stealing a running BMW from in front of a 7-Eleven, using the car to steal a vacuum cleaner from a Batavia Kohl’s store, and then running out of gas on the side of the road.

Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nord, 31, allegedly stole a gray 1998 BMW from in front of of the convenience store at 1705 W. Main St., where the car had been left running, a release from St. Charles police said.

The victim saw the car being driven out of the parking lot and called police, the release said, who put out an alert about the stolen vehicle. Less than an hour later, a Kane County Sheriff’s police officer spotted the vehicle near Route 47 and the I-90 Tollway but was unable to stop the vehicle, the release said.

Around 5 p.m., the vehicle was involved in a retail theft of a vacuum cleaner at the Kohl’s store in Batavia, the release said.

Finally, around 9 p.m., the Yorkville Police Dept. responded to a dispatch of a disabled BMW on Route 47, south of Galena Road. Nord – who had apparently run out of gas – was identified as the driver and the stolen car was recovered, the release said.

Nord was taken into custody by the Yorkville Police Dept. and taken to the Kendall County Correctional Facility. He was charged with vehicle theft conspiracy and driving with a revoked license, the release said.

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Mar 14, 2010 | 7:36 am ET

Marco Island, FL - A dolphin weighing between 600 and 700 pounds jumped onto the deck of a boat, injuring a woman in South Florida.

Isles of Capri Fire spokesman Keith Perry says a charter boat captain called 911 Sunday afternoon after the dolphin jumped on the boat and landed on one of his passengers.  The woman suffered a sprained ankle. Her name was not available.

Officials from the Isles of Capri Fire Department, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Collier County Sheriff's Office used an immobilizing board and a rope to push the dolphin back into the water.

(Thanks LYNN BURKE!)

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Mar 13, 2011 | 11:58 am ET

Gary, IN - Northern Indiana police have arrested a 14-year-old boy who allegedly stole a church van and drove it to school because he didn't want to walk from his nearby home.

A Gary police officer was driving behind the van Friday but didn't notice that a boy was driving the vehicle until a school employee pointed it out to him. The officer says the West Side Leadership Academy student circled the school parking several times before parking.

The Times of Munster says the boy's mother said her son most likely got the keys to the van while attending choir practice at Evening Star Missionary Baptist Church in Gary earlier in the week.

Police say charges are pending against the boy.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate/Columbus!)

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Spring breakers arrested for taunting gator

Mar 12, 2011 | 11: 22 am ET - WTSP.com - By Daniel Trotter

Panama City, FL - Two college students on spring break have been arrested for taunting and trying to steal the live alligators at a Panama City restaurant's pond.

The Panama City News Herald reported Friday that restaurant employees called police after they found the two 20-year-olds using raw chicken on a rope to taunt the animals.  The University of Alabama and University of West Georgia students were charged with felony burglary on Tuesday. They were released from jail later that day. It wasn't immediately known if they had attorneys.

According to an arrest report, the spring breakers planned the gator heist by visiting a hunting store and buying the rope and hooks.

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Gastonia, N.C. - Police arrested a man in Gastonia after he allegedly tried swallowing an item he had shoplifted.

Gary Lee Garber, 29, took a charm off a package that contained an anti-theft device at the Dollar Tree in Franklin Square Wednesday morning, according to WSOC-TV.  The station reports that Garber swallowed the charm after a security guard stopped him, but Garber wasn't able to keep the stolen charm down and threw it back up.

Garber faces larceny charges, as well as additional charges related to drugs that were found on his person. He was jailed under a $10,000 bond.

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Mesa, AZ - A man is in custody after police say he broke into an Arizona townhome and got stuck in a clothes hamper underneath the window he climbed through.

Mesa police say 20-year-old Michael Trias was arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage.  The East Valley Tribune reports a resident inside the home heard the commotion of Trias becoming entangled in the hamper at about 9 a.m. Thursday.  The owner of the home restrained Trias and was able to take him outside and call police.

Authorities say no property was taken from the home, but there was some damage done to the window.

(Thanks CHRISTINA ROBEY-Utica!)

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CA prosecutor resigns over warrant for his arrest

Mar 11, 2010 | 2:28 pm EST
Merced, CA - A prosecutor for a central California county has resigned after his superiors discovered he had been working despite a nearly-year-old warrant for his arrest.

The Merced Sun-Star reports that a bench warrant for the arrest of Merced County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Shelton was issued last April for failing to appear in court for speeding and driving on a suspended license.

Yet Shelton continued working, handling misdemeanors and felony cases, including a homicide. Police alerted his office about the warrant on March 2.  The newspaper says the 43-year-old may have broken laws prosecuting cases while suspended by the State Bar in 2008. He had been with the office since 2007.

(Thanks STEPHANIE KLINGLER!)

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Mar 11, 2011 | 11:11 am ET

Scottsdale, PA - A man left his sleeping 4-year-old son home alone while he went outside and pretended to be a ninja warrior, police say.

The Daily Miner reports Mervin Fried tried to bring the farm tool into the Feb. 16, 2010, meeting.  Mohave County (AZ) Manager Ron Walker told Fried to leave his pitchfork outside. Fried was arrested when he refused and tried to enter the building anyway.  Judge Pro-tempore Paul Julien ruled March 5 that Fried was not guilty of third-degree trespassing.

The judge said officials did have the authority to restrict access to the building. But because members of the public with holstered handguns are allowed inside, denying access to the defendant because he had a "holstered" pitchfork was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

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$200 million tax refund? We goofed, officials say
Software error blamed as 9,700 people in Ohio are wrongly promised mega-refunds

Mar 11, 2011 | 9:34 am ET

Huron, OH  - Ohio's tax department says a promise that it would send a woman a $200 million refund check was a mistake due to a software glitch.

According to The Sandusky Register, Denise Bossetti was among 9,700 taxpayers statewide who received Ohio Department of Taxation notices about mega-refunds. It's not clear if the other amounts were as big as what Bossetti was told to expect.

The woman was sent a letter dated Jan. 24 saying her $200 million refund could not be paid by direct deposit so she'd be sent a check.   Bossetti says she and her boyfriend had a "big laugh" over the letter.   Another dated a week later explained there'd been a software error.

"This has never happened before," tax department spokesman Gary Gudmundson told the newspaper. "The problem has been fixed."

(Thanks THERESA SHORT/Ohio Health!)

Mar 11, 2011 | 6:07 am ET
Port Clinton, OH - Port Clinton police charged a woman who allowed her 8-year-old son to drive a pickup truck that crashed into a gas main at a mobile home park.

Kendra Collins, 32, of the 1800 block of Heather Lane in Port Clinton, was charged with misdemeanor criminal damaging, inducing panic, obstructing official business, and two counts of child endangering and wrongful entrustment, according to court records.  Ottawa County prosecutor Mark Mulligan said Collins could face up to 18 months in jail.  She's scheduled to appear March 16 in Ottawa County Municipal Court.

Police said Collins first allowed her 11-year-old son to drive a 1995 Ford F-150 around the Fountain Mobile Home Park on Feb. 28. She then allowed her 8-year-old son to drive.  The boy mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, causing the truck to strike two meters and rupture a gas line in the ground.

Police said they don't know how fast the truck was going when it crashed.  No one was hurt, but about 20 residents were evacuated from the mobile home park and the neighboring Best Western hotel. Firefighters stood by in case the gas line exploded.

Ottawa County Sheriff's deputies diverted traffic from Heather Lane and away from the area for about three hours.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate!)

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Mar 10, 2011 | 7:15 am ET

South Greensburg, PA - Police say a car theft suspect was found in a western Pennsylvania office building's crawl space after his cigarette smoke gave away his hiding place.

South Greensburg police Chief Scott Fanchalsky says officers searched for 30-year-old Daniel Block for hours Wednesday afternoon before two employees smelled smoke coming from above the ceiling on the fourth floor.  Officers crawled in after Block and he surrendered peacefully.

WTAE-TV reports that Block had been putting gas into a stolen car when an employee at the gas station called police. Fanchalsky says officers tried to take him into custody but he escaped and ran into the office building, prompting a lockdown.

(Thanks PATTI BREEDEN/Bank of America!)

One night of drinking, seven DUIs

Mar 9, 2011 | 5:50 am ET - By Larry Kahn

Portland, ME - A Portland woman was charged with seven counts of drunk driving Saturday night after she essentially used her car as a pinball machine, smashing into several other autos, state troopers say.

Jessica Wilkinson, 36, was arrested shortly after she caused multiple crashes in a 2011 Nissan -- which sustained $18,000 worth of damage -- at mile marker 77.5 of U.S. 1.

Here's what happened, according to the Florida Highway Patrol:

About 10:15 p.m., Wilkinson was driving north in the southbound lane and hit a 2001 Chevy driven by Katlyn Schrider, 23, of Fort Myers; Schrider's car rolled over.

Wilkinson then continued traveling in the wrong direction and struck a 2000 Ford operated by Francisco Mayorga, 46, of Hialeah. Still heading north in the southbound lane, Wilkinson hit a 2005 Buick driven by Norma Kaub, 77, of Islamorada as Kaub tried to avoid the initial crashes by trying to move into the northbound lane. Both Mayorga and Kaub ended up driving off the road and onto the shoulder.

Wilkinson is charged with one count of driving under the influence, four counts of DUI-property damage and two counts of DUI-causing injuries.

This is the second time since Feb. 10 that a Keys driver has damaged numerous vehicles while allegedly driving drunk.

On that day, James Held, 20, of Daniel Island, S.C., was charged with four DUI counts, as well as numerous other charges, when he struck numerous autos around mile marker 47.5 bayside. He was arrested a short time later when he was found lying in the middle of the Seven Mile Bridge, next to his Toyota 4Runner.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate!)

Mar 9, 2011 | 4:17 pm ET

Copenhagen, Denmark – A Swedish bank robber forgot to cover his tracks and left three bottles of urine behind after hiding inside a bank vault in Copenhagen for three days. The 27-year-old man and his accomplice used the bottles to relieve themselves after sneaking into the vault on a Friday in May and remaining there until the bank opened again the following Monday.

While inside, the robbers emptied 140 safety deposit boxes of at least $500,000 in cash and jewelry. But Prosecutor Frederik Larsen said Wednesday they forgot to take the urine when they left "so we were able to get their DNA samples from the bottles."

The evidence helped prosecutors win a 21-month prison sentence for the Swede on Tuesday. His accomplice is still at large and the loot hasn't been recovered.

(Another great story find from LYNN BURKE and KEN HORTON/Gahanna - thanks!)

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Mar 8, 2011 – 6:43 pm ET - Ben Muessig  - AOL NEWS

Orlando, FL - Police say a millionaire dentist used a stolen credit card to buy $40 worth of pizza -- then bragged to investigators about his net worth.

Even though he had $250 in his wallet, Richard Lewis Ludwig didn't hesitate to charge $40.64 on a stranger's credit card that he found on Friday in a shopping center's parking lot, according to deputy sheriffs in Polk County, Fla.

Now, the 54-year-old Michigan dentist -- who was in town to watch his son's baseball game -- is facing charges of credit-card theft, forgery and attempting to use the ID of another person without consent, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Authorities say the card belonged to Harrun Majeed, an Army veteran and community college student who realized his credit card was missing after leaving the shopping center.  Majeed reportedly called his credit card company and learned that someone had used his card to make a purchase at a restaurant in the complex. The victim alerted authorities, who confronted Ludwig while he was waiting for his two large pies with extra olives.

Ludwig reportedly confessed he found the credit card on the ground, then laughed while telling deputies that he is "absolutely not" experiencing financial problems and, in fact, has a net worth of between $3 million and $4 million.

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Mar 8, 2011 | 6:34 pm ET - WVIT-TV NBCConnecticut.com

A New Haven, Conn., man is in the hospital and due in court later this month after police said he stabbed someone while getting his hair cut in Stamford.

David Davis, 21 of New Haven, was sitting inside an apartment on Henry Street in Stamford's south end just before 12:30 p.m., getting a haircut, when a man he had been arguing with approached him, police said.  Davis thought the other person was going to harm him, so he picked up a pair of scissors and slashed the other in the back, police said.

Patrol and canine officers later found Davis in an apartment and took him into custody.Hoof it over to Facebook to join the weird news herd.  Davis had a cut on the right side of his upper back and is being treated at a local hospital. He is expected to recover.

Davis was charged with first-degree assault and is being held on $5,000 bond.  He is due in court on March 22.  He was also wanted on a second-degree failure to appear warrant for a previous arrest with a court-set bond of $750.
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Mar 8, 2011 | 7:12 pm ET - By Tyler Treadway, TCPalm.com

Fort Pierce, FL - A former St. Lucie County Fire District firefighter-paramedic who took a man's foot and part of his leg from an Interstate 95 crash scene in 2008 has been sued by the foot's owner.

Cynthia "Cindy" Economou has admitted she took the foot belonging to Karl Lambert, of Brevard County, who was seriously injured in the Sept. 19, 2008, accident, but she said she did so to help train her body-recovery dog.

A lawsuit filed late last week for Lambert by Melbourne attorney Jack L. Platt says Economou's act was "outrageous and went beyond the bounds of decency ... was odious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society."

At a sentencing hearing in May 2009, Economou said the foot was trapped in the wreckage, and she found it about an hour after Lambert was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

"It was an unrecognizable mass of flesh," she said. "It wasn't a clean cut. You couldn't even recognize it as a foot ... If I had thought it was somehow reattachable and usable, I would have gone to my commander."  Asked at the same hearing if the leg could have been reattached, Lambert said, "We'll never know." The lawsuit states Economou "removed the leg rather than delivering it to the hospital where it could have been reattached."

The lawsuit also names the St. Lucie County Fire District as a defendant, claiming the district was "vicariously liable for any and all actions" by Economou.

Economou, who left her fire district job soon after the incident, pleaded no contest to a charge of second-degree petit theft. County Judge Philip Yacucci sentenced her to six months probation and withheld adjudication, meaning Economou was not formally convicted of the crime; but if she violates terms of her probation, she could be adjudicated guilty.

"I never meant any malice," Economou said at the sentencing hearing. "I never meant to cause [Lambert] any pain."

Economou was named the district's firefighter of the year in 2007 and is the founder of Fully Involved Farms, which trains physically, emotionally and mentally challenged residents how to ride horses and compete in equestrian events at the Special Olympics.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and has been assigned to Circuit Judge Dwight Geiger.

(Thanks THERESA SHORT for this follow-up story to a 2009 'Dumb Award,' that she also submitted!)

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Criminal Complaint: Chaperone Smoked Pot While Driving Field Trip Van

Mar 8, 2011 | 3:57 pm ET

Leechburg, PA - Police have charged a Leechburg Loyal Order of the Moose leader with smoking marijuana with high school students during a field trip.

Frederick Joseph Ulmer III, 31, of Leechburg, is facing several charges, including corruption of minors, in connection with the Nov. 20 incident.  Ulmer serves as group administrator, youth awareness chairman and community service chairman with the Moose, according to state police.

Investigators said Ulmer permitted one of the students to smoke pot and later smoked some himself with several other students. According to the criminal complaint, Ulmer was smoking a joint while driving the van they took to the trip.  Ulmer's attorney said his client didn't smoke or see any marijuana while on the trip.

"Mr. Ulmer is a member of a trade union where they are drug tested on a random basis and would certainly lose his job based on random testing. He certainly isn't someone who would risk his livelihood over something as ridiculous as this," said attorney Chuck Pascal. 

But police said the students have told investigators a different story.  "Through statements of the students it was discovered that, in fact, there was marijuana and alleged marijuana use on the van with the approval of the adult."  A student who was on the trip said Ulmer told them it was ok to smoke the marijuana.

"He said if anybody has anything they can pull it out. He said, 'I don't care as long as you don't tell anybody," said Cassie Smail.  Ulmer's attorney said the entire story is a lie.

"Fred Ulmer is clear. He didn't participate in any of this. This story is fabricated. We have to look at what the motivation of these people in saying what they are saying," said Pascal.

Heather Ann Bothell, 33, of East Vandergrift, is also facing charges in connection with the incident.

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NM lawyer who targets drunk drivers guilty of DWI

Mar 8, 2011 | 2:18 pm ET

Albuquerque, N.M. - An Albuquerque, N.M., lawyer known for suing drunken drivers has been convicted of driving while impaired.

Ron Bell was found guilty of three counts Tuesday, including DWI, speeding and failure to maintain a traffic lane.  Bell was stopped in June 2010 by an off-duty Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy. Bell failed some field sobriety tests and a toxicology report showed he had amphetamine in his system.

Bell takes Adderall, which contains amphetamine, for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A toxicology expert testified that the level in Bell's system was enough to impair a normal person's driving. Bell's attorney argued there was no evidence Bell was incapable of driving.  Bell was ordered to pay a fine and perform community service. He also must attend DWI school and use an interlock ignition device for one year.

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Mar 8, 2011 | 1:42 pm PT

PORTLAND, Ore. -- An intruder who broke into a Portland home and took a shower called 911 to tell dispatchers the homeowner might have a gun, police say.

A police spokesman says Timothy Chapek, 24, broke into a home in the 2700 block of Southwest Rutland Terrace at about 7 p.m. Monday night.  When the homeowner returned, she found Chapek taking a shower, police say.

Chapek then locked himself in the bathroom and called 911, saying he had just broke into a house.

Dispatcher: You broke into a house?
Caller: Yeah.
Dispatcher: Where at?
Caller: I don't know.
Dispatcher: OK, so, are you still there?
Caller: Yeah ... I think they have a gun.

Chapek didn't give an address, or even a neighborhood, while on the phone with the dispatcher until he mentioned he was "in the hills," implying Portland's West Hills. The homeowner also called 911 to report an intruder.

"He said he broke in and was kidnapped and he was taking a shower," the homeowner told the dispatcher.

Chapek was taken into custody on a charge of first-degree criminal trespassing.

(Thanks EVELYN BRIDGER-TNT Equipment; LYNN BURKE; DAN JOLLY; STEVE ZORTMAN/Marysville; TRUDI COAKLEY/Baltimore; BETTY HAMMONDS; GAILYN!)

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Mar 8, 2011 | 12:45 pm ET - By A. Pawlowski, CNN

(CNN) - In-flight movies may feature martial arts, but some airline passengers apparently got to see the real thing on a recent flight that ended with a man being subdued by air marshals.

The incident happened on a Delta Air Lines plane en route from Paris to Atlanta last Thursday, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Georgia.

A woman said she was asleep when the passenger seated behind her, identified as Brian Louis Pomykala, woke her up by "forcibly fondling and grabbing her face and head and then gesturing toward his crotch area indicating that he needed some sex," according to the complaint.  The woman's companion sought help from flight attendants who alerted two air marshals on board the flight, the complaint says.

When they approached Pomykala and asked him to go to the rear of the plane to explain what happened, he said he was not going anywhere, court papers allege.

Pomykala then struck one of the air marshals in the throat "with a bladed, karate-style thrust strike" and followed with a choke hold move, according to the complaint. The air marshal was able to put Pomykala in a head lock and handcuff him with the help of the other air marshal, court papers say. Pomykala spent the rest of the flight in the rear galley jump seat. Law enforcement officials met the plane when it landed in Atlanta.

Pomykala is accused of assault and interfering with a federal air marshal. His attorney declined to comment on the case.

(Thanks AMY BAKER!)

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Mar 8, 2011 | 11:59 am ET

Anchorage, AK - Don't mess with the moose.

That's the warning police in Anchorage, Alaska, are repeating after one of the animals kicked a woman in the chest and shoulder at a city park. She was checked by medics Monday afternoon and didn't have to go to a hospital.

The Anchorage Daily News reports the moose had been in Town Square Park most of the day feeding on trees. The woman in her 20s was attacked when she tried to pet it.

Police spokeswoman Anita Shell says the moose is not a threat unless provoked, so people need to give it space.

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Mar 8, 2011 | 9:51 am ET

Being the halftime honoree at a college basketball game evidently doesn't give someone the right to heckle a referee. George Washington professor Robert Kasmir learned that the hard way over the weekend during the Colonials regular-season finale against Dayton.

The part-time professor was ejected from the game for verbally confronting a ref from his courtside seat after a foul call. Minutes earlier, Kasmir and his family had been honored at halftime for donating between $10,000 and $24,999 to the university.

"Basically, I told the ref he was the worst ref I'd ever seen and he wasn't worth the $1,600 dollars they were paying him and that was it," Kasmir said. "And then he ejected me from the game."

For his part, Kasmir isn't upset with GW and plans to keep making donations. The school isn't upset with him either.

Senior vice provost Robert Chernark defended Kasmir in remarks to the school newspaper, The Hatchet. "He did get a bigger ovation when he was thrown out than when he was on the court for his donation," Chernak said. "Actually we started to play better afterwards, so maybe we need to make it a fan a game or something."

(Thanks TRAVIS SPANGLER for this one!)

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Mar 8, 2011 | 7:20 am

An Australian high school has banned students from hugging and warned that those caught in the act will be sent to detention, according to parents.  But the claims have sparked a row with the local Department of Education, which denied the reports, further angering parents and students.

Some parents say teachers at Figtree High School, near the city of Wollongong, south of Sydney, announced during a recent school assembly that hugging on school premises was banned.

"[A senior staff member] stood up at assembly and basically announced hugging was now banned and students would be given detention," one mother told the Illawarra Mercury newspaper.  "If they can ban hugging, what are they going to do next -- ban smiling?"  Outraged parents told the newspaper they believed hugging had been banned as a way to stop affectionate behavior between students during school time.  "They were told there's no touching, no hugging from now on," an unidentified parent said.

Figtree High School's website makes no mention of the ban but says it aims "to provide a safe and caring environment where students, regardless of diversity, disadvantage or disability, reach their highest potential through positive and enriching learning experiences."

Inquiries about the controversy were referred to the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, whose spokesperson said: "[A senior staff member] at the assembly talked about inappropriate touching of others -- such as horseplay, pretend fighting, flicking and bumping -- and gave a number of examples, including one about students hugging in the hallways and therefore blocking the path of other students returning to classes."

But students dismissed the department statement.

"I'm a student in Year 10 at Figtree High School and I would just like to say that during the assembly it was clearly stated and I quote 'if you touch, kiss or hug anyone, you will be sent to the deputy's office and sent home'," read one comment on the Mercury's website (that also perhaps highlighted poor grammar).

Sponsored Links"The kids should pretend that they are wrestling and get in the odd hug too," read another comment post.  Wrote another: "How can the students be expected to respect the rules and guidelines made by the teachers if the parents of these kids are the first ones to oppose?"

Schools in the U.S. have imposed hugging bans for several years.

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Mar 8, 2011 | 11:48 am ET

Key Largo, FL - Florida authorities said a man accused of burglarizing a home and a boat was arrested thanks to a palm print discovered on a toilet seat.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said an arrest warrant was issued March 4 for Robert Johnson, 46, of Key Largo, after a palm print on a toilet seat at the burglarized home was traced to him, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Investigators said items taken during the Oct. 9 break-in include a TV, multiple DVD players, DVDs, a 12 pack of beer, a GPS device and electronic equipment from the homeowner's boat.

Johnson was found staying in a neighbor's backyard shed and arrested on two burglary counts and two counts of grand theft. He was jailed in lieu of $30,000 bond, the newspaper said.

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Defendants told to pull up pants
Mar 8, 2011 | 12:54 pm ET

New York, N.Y. - - New York court officers said forcing defendants with saggy pants to pull them up is a matter of respecting the court.
Court officers in the Bronx and across the city said defendants whose pants hang low enough to expose underwear are being told to hike them up or leave the courthouse, the New York Daily News reported Monday.  They said saggy pants are particularly prevalent among defendants in the Bronx.

"When they wear their pants that way, it shows a lack of respect for the court system and a total lack of respect for themselves," said Dennis Quirk, president of the New York State Court Officers Association. "We don't care about fashion trends."  The officers said they are enforcing policies put in place by city judges.  "I don't want jeans that are hanging out and showing their underwear," city Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado said.

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Woman arrested for allegedly scamming nuns

Mar 7, 2011 | 5:26 pm PT

Santa Ana, CA -- Prosecutors said a Southern California woman was taken into custody on charges she swindled a group of Roman Catholic nuns in a real estate deal.

Linda Rose Gagnon, 57, of Tustin surrendered to the FBI Monday after being indicted for wire fraud in the alleged $285,000 scam.

Gagnon ran a company she said aided clients with real estate transactions and allegedly pocketed money sent to her by the sisters from the Province of the Religious of Jesus and Mary based in Rhode Island, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles said in a written statement.

Gagnon, who had once attended a boarding school run by the order, allegedly visited the Rhode Island convent and learned they were interested in purchasing a piece of property in San Diego for use as a residence for some of the sisters. Prosecutors said Gagnon offered to help with the deal despite not having a California real estate license.

Using an allegedly false letter from an attorney, Gagnon allegedly convinced the sisters to send her $285,000 from their retirement fund to purchase the property from a bank. The funds allegedly instead went into her pocket.

Gagnon was arraigned in Orange County federal court on three counts of wire fraud and faces a maximum of 60 years in prison if convicted.

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Stolen cell phone rings while deputies question suspect

Mar 7, 2011 | 1:05 pm  - By Dale White - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Charlotte County, FL - The telltale ring of a cell phone reportedly gave away a burglary suspect as deputies interviewed him.

Sunday morning, deputies responded to an alarm at the Chevron station, 4048 El Jobean Road, where several windows had been smashed. An employee described seeing a teen with a black rifle and small bat, whom he believed had been a former customer. The witness directed deputies to a nearby home in the 4400 block of Whisper Road.

While they questioned Robert Burdette, 19, at his home, the Sheriff's Office learned of a break-in at Port O'Call Bait & Tackle, 4230 El Jobean Road. A cell phone was reported among the stolen items.

A deputy at the bait shop called the cell phone, which deputies say they heard ring at the Burdette home.

Deputies obtained a search warrant, found a rifle-like BB gun and a black bat and arrested Burdette, who reportedly had cuts on his hands, on two counts of burglary and petty theft.

They also arrested his mother, Kennetha Ann Burdette, 36, for tampering with evidence and resisting officers. Detectives said she sneaked into the home before the search warrant was issued and concealed the phone in her purse.

[Just a thought... IF you are gonna be an accessory to your son stealing a cell phone, you just might want to turn the ringer off before hiding it in your purse... just a thought] - Greg Large

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate-Columbus!)

Mar 7, 2011 | 7:10 am ET - Chillicothe Gazette

CHILLICOTHE -- Three people were arrested after they reportedly captured a goose at Yoctangee Park and drove off with it.

Chillicothe police stopped the suspects on North High Street Saturday and observed the goose standing in the rear cargo area of their vehicle, an incident report shows.  The driver claimed the goose came from the home of one of her passengers, but then confessed to feeding the bird before they used a net to capture it, the report states.

The passengers gave conflicting statements, including the claim that they brought the goose to one home to clean it before releasing it at another.

Witnesses, however, told police they saw the passengers use a fishing net to capture the goose while the driver watched.

All three suspects were cited for violating a statute that affords protection to non-game birds and were given court dates.

The goose was taken back to Yoctangee Park "without incident."

(Thanks Ryan Thompson-American Municipal Power & Debbie Adams!)

Police: Naked woman threw rocks, teeth

Mar. 7, 2011 | 1:06 pm ET

Naples, FL - Authorities in Florida said they arrested an intoxicated woman who shed her clothes, tossed rocks at people and pulled out her own teeth to throw into a canal.

Collier County sheriff's deputies said they responded to a call about a naked woman throwing rocks in the Bayshore area of Naples about 8 p.m. Saturday and they arrived to find Tina Belinda Masta, 46, wrapped in a blanket on a dock, the Naples Daily News reported Monday.

The deputies said Masta, who appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol, opened the blanket, exposing herself to them, and told them she had taken out some of her teeth and tossed them into the canal. She "kept picking at her teeth and asked to use some pliers," deputies said.

Masta was arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication. A neighbor brought her some clothes while she was sitting in the patrol car, deputies said.

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Greeter charged with robbery of own Walmart in NC

Mar 7, 2011 | 12:37 pm ET

Statesville, N.C. - Police have charged an 83-year-old greeter at a North Carolina Walmart with trying to rob the store over the weekend.

Police say George Plane Jr. of Mooresville was working Sunday night when he went to his car, donned a disguise and walked back inside the Statesville store with a gun.

Statesville Police Chief Tom Anderson says Plane put the gun to a fellow employee's head and demanded money from a cash register. Anderson says Plane fired a shot in the air after leaving with the money. Plane was arrested later Sunday.

He was being held Monday on multiple charges, including robbery with a dangerous weapon.

It could not be immediately determined Monday if he has a lawyer.

(Thanks Theresa Short-Ohio Health!)

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March 7, 2011

When 49-year-old Lance McKenzie turned himself in last Thursday at the Yamhill County Jail to begin serving a 60-day sentence for assault he carried a message on his forehead.

It is unclear, however, to whom McKenzie’s "Lick Me" demand was directed. The phrase appears to have been added to McKenzie’s noggin with a Sharpie marker or some other writing instrument (a mid-February mug shot shows him with a clean forehead).

McKenzie is scheduled to be released from custody on March 20.

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Mar 7, 2011 | 8:41 am ET

Hazard, KY - A man charged with stealing an ambulance says he just needed a ride home.

A Perry County ambulance crew was inside a hospital in Hazard in eastern Kentucky for only a few minutes Friday night and left the keys in the ignition. WYMT-TV reports that when they came out, the vehicle was gone.

City Police Sgt. Randy Napier says an off-duty Kentucky State Police detective saw the ambulance being driven erratically pulled it over.

Napier says 26-year-old Shane Hale told the detective he only needed a ride home and was going to call the ambulance service the next day and report where the vehicle was. Hale was jailed on drunken driving and other charges.

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Mar 7, 2011 |  7:37 am ET - By Will Greenlee/tcpalm.com

Indiantown, FL - Deputies arrested the 'cookie monster' in connection with an alleged cookie crime after spotting crumbs falling from his lips, according to a recently released affidavit.

What could be called a crumby caper began last Thursday as a Martin County Sheriff's deputy went to a dispatched shoplifting call from a Circle K in Indiantown. Investigators found three people who matched the description of those responsible for pilfering a $1.19 package of "Pink White" cookies.

Sebastian Esteban, 18, was spotted "chewing and licking as crumbs fell from his lips." He wore a hoody sweatshirt, and investigators told him to remove the hood.

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Mar 6, 2011 | 4:01 pm ET

Hamilton, VA - Authorities in Virginia say a volunteer firefighter is accused of taking a fire truck on a drunken joyride and nearly smashing into a deputy's patrol car.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's office says in a press release that 27-year-old Sean Richard Swanson, a volunteer firefighter in Hamilton, was speeding down a road early Saturday morning in the fire truck. The sheriff's office says four other volunteer firefighters who also had been drinking were in the truck with Swanson.

The release says a deputy had to veer into a ditch to avoid hitting the truck.

The deputy turned around and pulled over the truck. Swanson was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

A phone message left at a listing for Swanson was not immediately returned Sunday.

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Woman Dressed as Dead Mom Arrested in Pension Plot

Mar 5, 2011

Ferndale, WA - Authorities say a Washington state woman suspected of pension fraud was arrested when she tried to open a bank account in her dead mother's name while disguised as her mother.

Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo says 59-year-old Loewen B. Craft was wearing a gray wig and makeup to make her look older when she arrived this week at a credit union branch in Ferndale, Wash.

The sheriff alleges Craft fraudulently collected more than $145,000 in pension benefits since her mother, Betty Becker, died in 2007.

Detective John Allgire was waiting at the credit union. He arrested Craft for investigation of first-degree identity theft, criminal impersonation and multiple counts of forgery.

The sheriff says the scheme began to unravel when the detective started investigating an unrelated arson case. He learned that Becker had been admitted to St. Joseph hospital in 2007 and died on April 23, 2007.
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Cow fart cans offer 'authentic smell of countryside'

Cans filled with the aroma of cow farts are proving a big hit with shoppers - despite costing £5 a tin.

Tins filled with the air sucked out of an ageing wooden stable, straw lined and filled with gas producing cattle has become an instant hit after it went on sale in Germany.

Managers of the 'Countryside air to go' project say their clients are mainly country people who have moved to the city and want to be reminded of home.

The cans cost £5 a pop and can be ordered from the web site www.stallduft.de

One advert boasts: 'Simply put your nose to the tin and peel back the lid for the authentic smell of the country'.

Designer Daniela Dorrer from the village of Adlkofen in Bavaria in Germany said: 'We hope to make people who miss the countryside happy and remind them of home.

'We are planning other smells such as horse, straw, pigs and manure. But most people miss the smell of the cows in the country, not really surprising as much of the smell is from cows.'

Cows' farting and burping have even been accused of causing global warming problems.

Just one cow gives off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 litre bottles, which is really bad for the environment, say experts.

(Thanks ... I think ... GREG LARGE/ERA Real Estate-Columbus!)

Mar 4, 2011 | 5:58 am ET

Mooresville, N.C. - A gate must have blown open. That's how employees at The Learning Experience in Mooresville say a group of six two-year-olds got out of a fenced in play area and wandered away. One woman called 911 when she saw those kids and told the dispatcher, "We're driving down the road and all these little kids are out running in traffic and there's no adult around!"

From the gate where the kids got out at The Learning Experience to the edge of Fairview Road it's about the length of a football field give or take a few yards. There was one child actually on Fairview, one on the edge of Fairview, two on the side road, Legacy Village, and two others headed toward Fairview.

The Learning Experience regional director tells FOX that something like this has never happened at the facility but that they are investigating. As for Mooresville Police, they say they've been in touch with the Department of Health and Human Services and the day care has never had a complaint filed against it. For Captain Phil Blocker, the more pressing issue is one of common sense. He says, "The question I want answered is, where was the supervision?"

Meantime, parents are rallying behind the school. One mom tells us she's started a petition of support. Lisa Dye of Troutman says, "I started the petition because I truly believe that it was not neglect on the teachers behalf, it's was not neglect on the daycares behalf stuff happens all the time."

It was first reported that 11 kids had wandered into the roadway. We've learned that was just an estimate given by one of the 911 callers.

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Mar. 3, 2011 | 5:16 pm - Weldon B. Johnson - The Arizona Republic

Blair River was a big guy with a big heart.  River, who stood 6-foot-8 and weighed about 575 pounds, gained a measure of fame in the past year as spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill, a west Chandler restaurant that specializes in thick hamburgers and fries. He died on Tuesday at the age of 29.  The cause of death is currently unknown, but friends are speculating that it was the result of his contracting pneumonia after a bout with the flu.

Heart Attack Grill is an unabashedly unhealthy restaurant - the menu consists of huge burgers, milkshakes and fries cooked in lard - and having such a big man as a spokesman was part of its tongue in cheek "glorification of obesity." But those who knew River said he was more than the larger-than-life caricature he portrayed in promoting the restaurant.  Restaurant founder Jon Basso said he got to know River, first as a customer at the restaurant before working with him after he became the grill's spokesman.

"Cynical people might think this (River's death) is funny," Basso said. "But people who knew him are crying their eyes out. There is a lot of mourning going on around here. You couldn't have found a better person."  River was a state heavyweight wrestling champion in 1999 as a senior at Payson High School and he went on to play football at Mesa Community College.
He lived in Mesa and worked as a financial adviser at the University of Phoenix.  "He was a nice guy, very energetic and full of life," said Alex Arreola, a waitress at the grill. "He was always talking about his daughter and he always seemed to know the right thing to say to people."

Basso said River was the "creative genius" behind the promotions and was always coming up with new ideas for spots for the restaurant. They were even planning to shoot a spot called, "Heart Attack Grill: The Musical."  "Even if he was skinny we would have given him the job," Basso said. "We would have just put a fat suit on him. He just had personality."  Basso said they had to stop showing some of the ads featuring River on the video screens in the restaurant because they made some of the staff too emotional.  "We're like a family here and he was part of our family," Arreola said. "He will be missed. He'll definitely be missed."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2011/03/03/20110303chandler-heart-attack-grill-spokesman-dies-500-pound-man0303.html#ixzz1Fv3jwYN0

Calif. woman survives 35-mile ride on minivan hood

Mar 2, 2011 | 8:57 pm ET

Manteca, CA - The woman desperately gripped a windshield wiper blade, her body splayed across the hood of the minivan as it raced down a Northern California freeway in the middle of the night, reaching 100 mph, witnesses said.

With the temperature hovering in the low 30s, Christopher Michael Carroll drove 35 miles from Manteca to nearby Pleasanton on Saturday with his wife clinging to the hood, prompting 911 calls from at least two alarmed witnesses, police said.

Carroll, 36, was being held without bail Wednesday at the San Joaquin County Jail on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and domestic assault, according to sheriff's department records.

Carroll got into the family's minivan around 12:30 a.m. Saturday after he and his wife had an argument at their Manteca home, said police spokesman Rex Osborn.  "She kind of goes with the van to try to stop him, gets up on the hood and is hanging on to the wiper blade," he said. "She obviously didn't think he would keep driving."

Carroll sped through Manteca, got on the freeway and didn't pull over until he reached Pleasanton, Osborn said.  One witness followed Carroll most of the way and told police his speed reached 100 mph.

Eventually, Carroll slowed down the vehicle and his wife "was able to roll off," Osborn said. The driver following the vehicle took the woman to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia.  Carroll returned home, where police arrested him a short time later, Osborn said. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday, and authorities said they wouldn't know whether he has an attorney until then.

The wild ride happened several days after Carroll was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance, Osborn said.  Police received a phone call Feb. 23 from a witness who reported that Carroll had climbed into a 6-foot-deep trash bin in Manteca and was threatening to drown himself in the 5 inches of water that had collected at the bottom, Osborn said.

"We went out there and talked to him for about an hour and he was obviously on some kind of drugs," Osborn said.

Carroll was booked into county jail that afternoon and released the following day, he said.

(Thanks KEN HORTON/Gahanna!)

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Denver Fire's arson van set on fire

Mar 2, 2011 | 9:16 am MST

Denver, CO - Someone set one of the Denver Fire Department's arson vans on fire early Wednesday.

Spokesman Phil Champagne says it happened while an investigator was at a scene looking into two car fires in the 3900 block of W. Kentucky Ave.  The vehicle was damaged on the right front side. It was at the repair shop Wednesday.  Champagne says it's unusual for an arson investigator to respond to a scene alone, but that was the case this time.

Nobody was hurt. No word if anyone has been arrested for the arson van arson, or setting the two cars on fire.

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Mar 2, 2011 | 4:58 pm - Christopher Collette

Fort Myers, FL (News-Press) -- Tuesday began as a typical work day for Todd Griffith at Matern Professional Engineering, Inc. in south Fort Myers when his morning took a turn towards the bizarre.

Griffith, a mechanical engineer, was sitting in a conference room working at a computer before a 9 a.m. meeting when a large muscovy duck smashed through an outside window and ended up in the seat next to him.

"I head a loud boom, and I looked to my left and there was a duck sitting next to me," he said. "It looked at me like, 'What are you doing here?'"  The duck then jumped onto a table and began walking around the conference room for the next few minutes as Griffith watched in amazement.

"I didn't know what to do," he said.  Employees at the firm were eventually able to corral the duck and get it out of the building via a sliding glass door.  They cleaned up the broken glass and feathers and had their scheduled meeting, minus the uninvited guest and a window.

The duck, which is fine except for a cut to its wing, is back to its life in the wild and was last seen this morning swimming in a large drainage ditch behind the building.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate-Columbus!)

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Mar 2, 2011 | 4:00 am ET

Brooksville, FL - Authorities in Florida said a fight that landed a couple in jail began as an argument about their status as Facebook friends.

The Hernando County Sheriff's Office said Thomas Gannon, 35, of Brooksville told deputies he confronted his girlfriend, Tina Cash, 31, after she changed their relationship status on Facebook and "unfriended" him, the St. Petersburg Times reported Tuesday.

Gannon said Cash threw items at him, including his great-grandfather's framed flag, and struck him in the face with a picture frame.  Cash told deputies Gannon was also throwing items and had punched her in the head.

The report said Gannon and Cash were arrested and each charged with a count of misdemeanor domestic battery.

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Mar 2, 2011 - The Virginian-Pilot - By Patrick Wilson

Norfolk, VA - The suspended worker who was paid by a Norfolk agency for 12 years has fired back that she was wrongfully terminated after false allegations by the city.

Jill McGlone, a former administrative worker at the Norfolk Community Services Board, wrote letters Feb. 16 to City Manager Marcus Jones and CSB Director Maureen Womack saying she wanted to meet with them about her "wrongful termination" and denial of unemployment benefits.

"No rectification can justify the moral devastation that publicly took place to my family," McGlone wrote to Jones, who became city manager Feb. 1. "My family and I suffered greatly due to a malfeasance based on falsified information released to the media by the City of Norfolk."

The city released copies of the letters to The Virginian-Pilot this week. City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko said McGlone had been scheduled to meet with him and Womack today, but McGlone canceled the meeting. He said he did not know the reason.

"How long was it that she didn't come in to work and got paid?" Pishko said Tuesday when asked about McGlone's allegation that the city had acted wrongfully against her.  McGlone has made little public comment since the no-show status was made public in August. No one came to the door at her home on Tuesday afternoon.

Commonwealth's Attorney Greg Underwood has spent nearly three months reviewing findings from a Norfolk police investigation but has not yet said whether anyone will be charged.

McGlone was suspended in 1998 on an allegation of having a weapon on CSB property. She later was accused of illegally releasing confidential medical information about a patient of the agency who was HIV-positive.  For reasons that remain unclear, the agency's director, George Pratt, never resolved McGlone's suspension by either firing her or putting her back to work. She was paid an estimated $320,000 before Womack, Pratt's replacement, found out and fired her around May 2010.

Womack has been director for two years.

Womack and a deputy city attorney spent months investigating why McGlone continued to be paid. The investigation was eventually turned over to Norfolk police; Womack fired or forced out five employees she said had knowledge of the payments.

Two of those employees blamed Brenda Wise, the agency's longtime director of administration, whom Womack fired.

The former human resources officer, Linda Berardi, has produced copies of e-mails she sent to Wise asking whether anything should be done about McGlone, and responses from Wise saying she was handling the situation.

Reached at her home on Tuesday, Wise declined to be interviewed and referred questions to her attorney, Andrew Sacks. Sacks said he did not expect state or federal charges against his client because the McGlone problem was merely a "systemic failure" and that Wise was "part of the overall system that broke down."

"Brenda Wise lived and breathed the Community Services Board. She would never do anything intentionally wrong," he said. "Quite frankly, I think it just got lost in the administrative shuffle."

The CSB processed paperwork for McGlone all those years, even prompting a call from Norfolk Human Resources in February 2009 to ask why she had not been removed from the payroll, according to an e-mail Berardi has shown to The Virginian-Pilot.

In her letters, McGlone said the FBI says she "committed no crime on the federal level." She also asserted that a lawyer who "had the best interest of the city at heart" was "covertly" sent by the city to speak to her.

FBI spokeswoman Vanessa Torres said the agency "cannot confirm or deny any wrongdoing on Ms. McGlone's part because this is a pending matter."

Norfolk's CSB, which receives some city funding, does not report directly to the city manager or the city government. The City Council appoints the volunteer governing board that hires and fires the CSB director. The council approves the CSB budget each year based on a recommendation of the city manager but exercises little to no oversight of the agency.

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Mar 2, 2011 | 12:00 pm ET
Budapest, Hungary - Budapest's mayor says Elvis Presley will be declared a posthumous honorary citizen of Hungary's capital and a city landmark will be named after him.

Mayor Istvan Tarlos said Wednesday that Elvis will be commemorated because of his support for Hungary in the wake of the short-lived, anti-Soviet revolution of October 1956.  On the city's website, visitors can pick one of 12 locations to be renamed after Elvis, including street crossings, a small square and a site at the foot of Margaret Bridge, which spans the Danube River. Voting closes March 15.

On Jan. 6, 1957, during his last appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," Elvis sang a gospel standard, "Peace in Valley," which Sullivan said reflected the singer's preoccupation with Hungarians' plight after the uprising.

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Mar 1, 2011 | 5:45 pm ET

Philadelphia, PA - The owner of a suburban Philadelphia pizza shop was arraigned on Tuesday on charges he schemed to plant live mice in competing pizza parlours in hope of putting them out of business.

Nickolas Galiatsatos, owner of Nina's Bella Pizzeria in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, is accused of putting bags of mice at nearby competitors on Monday afternoon, according to Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

The owner of Verona Pizza watched Galiatsatos go into his restroom carrying a bag but emerge empty-handed, and alerted two patrol officers who were in the restaurant, Chitwood said.  The officers found a bag of mice and footprints on a toilet seat, suggesting someone had been trying to reach the ceiling tiles, he said.

The officers then found Galiatsatos near another pizza place, Uncle Nick's, where he was seen putting something in a trash can. There, police found a bag containing five mice, Chitwood said.  "This guy planted them to put these guys out of business," Chitwood said.  "I've been at this for 47 years, and I've never seen mice used as a criminal tool," he added.

Galiatsatos claimed his shop had been infested with mice, and he blamed his competitors for the problem, he said.  Chitwood said that Galiatsatos told police he bought the mice at a pet shop for $10.

He faces misdemeanour charges of cruelty to animals, criminal mischief, harassment and disorderly conduct.

(Thanks LYNN BURKE!)

HPD officer suspended in tear gas incident at rodeo

Mar 1, 2011 | 8:10 pm CT - James Pinkerton - Houston Chronicle
A veteran Houston police officer participating with a cooking team at the Houston rodeo's Bar-B-Que cook-off has been relieved of duty for reportedly tossing a tear gas canister at booth opponents during the popular event, apparently sickening several patrons.

The tear gas also reached a tent occupied by several military veterans including some amputees in wheelchairs.

Senior police officer Mike Hamby, 51, was relieved of duty with pay on Monday while he is under investigation for "criminal allegations," said HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva. The nature of the allegations against Hamby are under investigation by the internal affairs division and will not be disclosed, Silva said.

At the Houston Police Officer's Union, Hamby resigned as a member Monday of the board of directors. Union president Gary Blankinship said he had no comment.

Hamby, who joined HPD in December 1980, is assigned to the department's burglary and theft division. Hamby has had seven previous internal affairs complaints sustained against him including misconduct, improper police procedure and two accidents, according to HPD records.

Leroy Shafer, chief operating officer of the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show, said the organization was able to confirm that Hamby was not employed by the rodeo as part of the security force.

"He was not in uniform, and he was not serving in any police capacity when he did this," Shafer said.

(Thanks THERESA SHORT!)

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Mar 1, 2011 | 3:54 pm - From: NewsCore

Newport, Australia - The death of an 81-year-old man who got into a fight with a 72-year-old fellow dementia patient at a New Jersey nursing home was under investigation by authorities today.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio told The Jersey Journal the incident claimed the life of Andy Berthelot on Saturday at the Newport Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center after he apparently picked up a television set and attempted to hit the younger man with it.

The 72-year-old then struck his attacker with a plastic waste basket, causing a cut on his head. Both men were taken to the Jersey City Medical Center, where the older man remained until his death later that day. An autopsy showed Berthelot died of a brain hemorrhage and his death was ruled a homicide.

"This is an extraordinary event due to the ages of the participants and their status as patients in the dementia unit," DeFazio said.

No charges had been laid in the case today.

Mar 1, 2011 | 2:31 pm

Brooksville, FL - Authorities in Florida said a man spotted driving a golf cart against traffic had a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit.

Hernando County sheriff's deputies said they pulled the golf cart over after midnight Saturday when it was spotted traveling against traffic in Brooksville, Hernando Today reported Tuesday.  The deputies said the driver, Eric Perez, 36, smelled strongly of alcohol and displayed bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and swaying while standing, the Brooksville newspaper said.

Perez told the deputies he had been drinking but said he did not believe he was impaired.  Deputies said Perez's passenger, Jeffery Snyder, said he had also been drinking and appeared more impaired than Perez.

Perez was taken to the Hernando County Jail, where breath tests measured his blood-alcohol content at 0.251 and 0.242, more than three times Florida's legal limit of 0.08.  Snyder was taken home and the golf cart was returned to Frontier Campgrounds, where it is used by staff. It was unclear how the two men.

(Thanks JOHNNA HURLEY!)

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Footballer in Colombia could face jail for kicking owl off field

March 1, 2011 | 12:14 pm ET

A professional soccer player in Colombia faces up to three months in jail for kicking an opposing team's lucky owl, which had been been hit by a ball after landing on the field Sunday. The owl died Tuesday.

The owl was considered a good luck charm for the Atlético Junior squad in Barranquilla and lived in its Metropolitan Stadium.

Luis Moreno, a Panamanian player for Deportivo Pereira, was met with chants of "Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!" after kicking the owl and had to leave the stadium under heavy police guard, according to the Daily Mail in London. (The Daily Mail has video of the owl kick, or you can check it out on YouTube.)

For those too squeamish to watch the footage, which the Daily Mail warns constitutes animal cruelty, a Pereira defender chases a Junior attacker into the penalty box, wins the ball from him and clears it, poorly, hitting the owl that had landed on the field.

The referee stops play, and Moreno trots over and kicks the bird off the field, a distance of about three yards.

The incident was aired on national television and prompted widespread outrage, and not just from Junior fans. Environmental groups urged sanctions against Moreno and called for protests at the National Soccer building in Bogota.

Moreno apologized, saying it was not his intention to harm the bird.  "I did it to see if the owl could fly," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.  The owl was taken to Zoosalud veterinary clinic in Barranquilla, the Daily Mail reported. Veterinarians said it was suffering from stress and needed sedation but that X-rays indicated no fractures.

A Spanish-language report from Radio Santa Fe in Bogota said that Moreno faces one to three months in prison and a maximum fine of 50,000 pesos, about $26.

Moreno apologized again in a news conference and said he would accept responsibility.  "I apologize to the whole country and more to the fans of Barranquilla because it was a very grave action, and if I receive a penalty, then I'll take it."

(Thanks AMY BAKER/Chase ... I think)

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February 28, 2011 | 9:05 am

Alachua County, FL - Here's one MADD unfortunate case of do as I say, not as I do.

Debra Oberlin, a former president of a defunct chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was arrested recently by the Gainesville, Fla. police - for drunk driving, according to the Gainesville Sun.  Maybe that's why she's a "former" president?

Oberlin, who's 48, was arrested after she had difficulty on a field sobriety test, according to the Sun. She registered a .234 and .239 on breath alcohol tests, nearly three times Florida's legal limit for driving.

On Feb. 18 at 1:10 a.m., an officer spotted Oberlin driving erratically, swerving and crossing lanes, an arrest report states. She was pulled over, and the officer reported that Oberlin smelled of alcohol and had watery, bloodshot and dilated eyes. The report also states that Oberlin told the officer she had four beers, according to the newspaper.

The Sun says Gainesville's chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving existed for several years in the 1990s before closing in 1996 because of a lack of financial support. Oberlin was the chapter president for three years.

Maybe that's why it's defunct?

(Thanks BILL GEARY/Speer Mechanical!)

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Feb. 25, 2011 | 5:54 pm ET - By Eliot Kleinberg - Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach County, FL -Calvin Lee Devol, Jr., told a wildlife officer he got his stolen rifle from a guy named "Bo" and his stolen pickup from a "blue eyed Cuban."  But what about the alligator in the back with a hole in its head?

Devol is charged with grand theft auto, altering a vehicle identification number, and killing an alligator without a license.  He was booked Thursday night into the Palm Beach County Jail and left this morning after posting $9,000 bond, a jail clerk said.

"I didn't kill the alligator," the 29-year-old Belle Glade construction worker said today. "It was given to me by a co-worker."  According to a report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, on the afternoon of Nov. 16, wildlife officer Christopher Douglas came across Devol on U.S. 441 in Canal Point.  In the bed of Devol's gray 2005 Ford F-250: an alligator, shot in the head by a small caliber gun. It had been placed in large plastic bags and covered with ice.  Devol said he'd picked up the animal on State Road 80.

After the officer spotted the bullet hole, Devol, while not admitting he'd killed the animal, said the gun that shot it was in the cab of the truck.  The state's recreational alligator hunting season had ended two weeks earlier, on Nov. 1.  The officer checked the serial number on the Remington 597 .22-caliber rifle and learned it had been stolen in Lakeland. Devol said he'd bought it for $50 from a man named "Bo."

The officer then noticed the truck's bed had a different paint job than the rest of the pickup. He checked the dashboard and doorjamb and saw that the VIN had been painted over.

He also noticed the vehicle wouldn't lock. And he saw the ignition assembly was loose from the steering column; he was able to crank the engine without a key.  The officer said he looked at VINs hidden elsewhere in the vehicle, made a check, and learned it had been stolen in July from Indian River County and an insurer already had paid out $30,743.

Devol told the officer he'd bought the truck at a Miami car parts outfit for $10,000 cash from "a blue eyed Cuban."  The report doesn't say why Devol was just now charged three months after the incident.

He told a reporter today the gun was a gift and said he had proper paperwork for the truck.  "I may have bought a stolen truck, but I didn't steal a truck," he said. "I didn't alter the VIN."

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Feb 22, 2011 - NJ Press Media

Millville, N.J. - Hey, a bet's a bet.

Authorities arrested a conflicted shoplifter who admitted he had to pick between shoplifting $50 worth of merchandise at Walmart or running "through the street naked" after losing a bet, according to a police report.

Police arrested 58-year-old Irwin Krakow of 4th Street at 2:28 p.m. Saturday and charged him with shoplifting at Walmart on North 2nd Street.  Upon further reflection, Krakow told police, he should have run naked instead because "the fine would be smaller," the report said.

Police did not indicate what type of bet Krakow made or on which street he would have had to streak.  And even if he hadn't been arrested, Krakow would not have satisfied the conditions of the bet.

Krakow was caught shoplifting a USB card, two dinner spoons, a nutcracker, a decorative tree and T-shirts, police said. But the value of those items totaled $43.82 -- more than six dollars short of his $50 goal, the report said.

(Thanks JULIE THOMSEN!)

UK removes breast milk ice cream from shop

Feb 28, 2011 | 12:06 pm ET
London, England - Local government officials said Monday they have confiscated ice cream made with human breast milk from a London shop amid concerns it is unsafe.

A spokeswoman from the local City Council of Westminster said it was responding to two complaints from the public over whether a shop should be selling edibles made from other people's bodily fluids and awaiting guidance from Britain's Food Standards Agency.  The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with council policy.

The official said the ice cream, marketed as "Baby Gaga" and launched last week, is being tested with the full cooperation of The Icecreamists, the parlor marketing the dessert.

Viruses, including hepatitis, can be passed on through breast milk.

The company has said that the milk was screened in line with blood donor requirements before being pasteurized and churned together with vanilla pods and lemon zest. The dish comes in a martini glass and sells for 14 pounds ($22.50) each.

"As far as we are aware there is no law prohibiting a business from selling breast milk ice cream," Matt O'Connor, founder of The Icecreamists, said in a statement.

The company paid women who responded to an online ad to donate their breast milk and said all of its products meet the "highest and safest" of food standards.

The company said it has had a "huge response" to its "fresh take" on the world of ice cream. The Icecreamists said at the time that its "Baby Gaga" ice cream sold out as soon as it launched on Friday, but that women had signed up to donate more milk.

(Thanks KEN HORTON/Gahanna!)

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Cookie sales barred at Girl Scouts founder's home

Feb 27, 2011 | 3:31 pm ET

Savannah, GA - Girl Scouts are no longer able to sell their famous cookies outside the historic Savannah home of the woman who founded the organization almost a century ago.

A complaint last year ended the longtime practice of selling the cookies on the public sidewalk outside the home of Juliette Gordon Low at the busy intersection of Bull Street and Oglethorpe Avenue. Peddling on a public sidewalk is a violation of city ordinance. One city alderman said he thinks the city should consider a temporary exception for cookie season.

The city's zoning administrator, Randolph Scott, said he investigated the matter and tried to find a solution. He said he called for a survey, hoping there would be some private space between the home and the sidewalk. He said there wasn't any.

Scott said they also looked at allowing the Scouts to sell from a small courtyard on the side of the house, but fire marshals told the Scouts they would block an exit route. The home is a National Historic Landmark open for tours.

"I know it doesn't look good," Scott told The Savannah Morning News. "However, other businesses won't care if it's the Girl Scouts or March of Dimes. They're going to say, 'Why can't I sit out front and solicit business?'"

City Alderman Van Johnson said he thinks the city council should consider a variance to allow temporary sales during cookie season, which usually happens in the first few months of the year.

"Juliette Low brings thousands of tourists from around the country. Juliette Low is known for Girl Scouts, and Girl Scouts are known for cookies," Johnson said. "Let's be reasonable. Let them sell their cookies."

Scouts have since started selling near some other high-traffic intersections. Girls used to be able to sell about 250 boxes in three hours outside the Low home, said Jan McKinney, who heads product sales for the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.

But she says it's important that the girls learn the larger lesson of the change. She says the cookie sales are intended to teach the girls money management, public speaking, customer service and business ethics.

"We try to teach them that in business you have to adjust to things that happen, adapt to the market and follow the law," she said. "It's a real-world experience."  The executive director of the Low house, Fran Harold, said tourists loved buying cookies from the girls at the home.

"It's kind of sad for the girls, too," she said. "There's nothing cuter than some little Brownie Girl Scout selling cookies on the sidewalk in front of the Juliette Low house."

Low founded the Girl Scouts in Savannah in March 1912 after meeting Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides, and helped expand the organization worldwide.

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Feb 27, 2011 | 1:52 pm ET

Indianapolis, IN - A trip to a strip club has landed an Indianapolis man in the dental chair, and as a result, he filed suit against the strip club last week for ‘lifelong dental injuries.”

Jake Quagliaroli, 34, was at PT’s Showclub located Lawrence Indiana, when a strippers shoe flew off and smacked him in the front teeth, reports the Indianapolis Star.

According to a statement made by his attorney, Jake claims he never goes to the strip clubs and he was sitting about 20-feet away when the shoe hit him. The attorney also said that Jake wasn’t really sure what the dancer was doing at the time of the incident.

As a result of the injuries, Jake has had to get veneers and temporary caps which will most likely need to be replaced every 10-15 years, according to his attorney. He may also need a root canal in the future.

Andy Klein, a law professor at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis told the Indianapolis Star, that the incident is similar to getting hit with a foul ball at a baseball game, which could make for a good case.

Jake’s attorney would like for everyone to look past the bizarre story and focus on the fact that his client was just a patron who left a business with lifelong injuries.

(Thanks GREG LARGE/ERA Real Estate-Columbus!)

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Feb 27, 2011

Williamston, N.C. - Having front row seats at a rodeo turned out to be much too close for comfort for one North Carolina couple.

Butch Trimnal and his wife were charged by a bull that jumped right into the stands after the rider fell off Saturday at a rodeo in Williamston, N.C.  Trimnal managed to push his wife out of the way. Neither of them were hurt, but they still drove themselves to the hospital.

The rodeo offered the couple help with their medical bills and tickets to future events. The bull was not injured and was used again later in the show.

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Feb 26, 2011

Fort Myers, FL (KABC) - A group of sitting ducklings created a backup for motorists in Fort Myers, Fla. and it was all caught on dash cam video.

An officer who was caught in the traffic thought he was pulling up to a stalled car, but when the vehicle moved, he saw 10 ducklings stranded in the middle of the road.  The officer stopped traffic and with the help of a Good Samaritan, succeeded in rounding up the ducklings.  The task appeared much harder than they thought it would be.

In the end, the babies were reunited with their mother who was waiting across the street.

(THERESA SHORT/Ohio Health provided many submissions in today's report!)

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Feb 25, 2011 | 8:29 pm CT  - Lori Lyons, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans, LA - The complaints that the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office receives on a daily basis run the gamut from the mundane loud barking dog to the routine reports of speeders, to the make-you-shake-your head-and-say-what? calls about "my child is refusing to go to school."

But the call that came through on Thursday caught even veteran law enforcement officials off guard and perhaps created a new category: Way out of the ordinary.

But it also may be a sign of the times.

At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the St. John 9-1-1 emergency call center received a report from a motorist who became irate when, he said, a local gas station increased the price of the fuel - while he was filling up his truck.

The unidentified motorist told authorities that when he first pulled into the station at Birdie's Food and Fuel, located at 901 East Airline Highway in LaPlace, the price on the pump read $3.049 per gallon. But, while he was pumping, the price shot up to $3.189. The motorist confronted the station attendant but got no satisfaction, so he dialed 9-1-1.

"He said he didn't think it was fair," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Dane Clement. "And the store attendant wasn't very cooperative, so he called the Sheriff's Office."

Clement said no arrests were made. The deputy filed a report, which will be forwarded to the State Attorney General's Office as a civil complaint.

Sam Aljousi, the manager at Birdie's, said the customer pulled into the station while the prices were being changed and wanted the cheaper price.

"Everybody had to wait," Aljousi said. "There's no way, no way, no way. It's all done by a computer."

Benjy Rayburn, the Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Agro-Consumer Services, backed up Aljousi's claim.  "Once that pump is initiated, it is impossible to change the price," Rayburn said. "Now, it can change from the time you pick up the pump to the time you put it in your tank, but not while you are pumping."

Clement said that he has seen a lot of strange calls in his 14 years at the Sheriff's Office, but this one was among the strangest.  "It's out of the ordinary," he said. "Way out of the ordinary."

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Feb. 25, 2011 | 2:15 pm CT

San Marcos, TX - A burglary suspect in south Texas allegedly created his own drive-thru lane at a bank.

San Marcos police say a 25-year-old man early Friday crashed his car into a closed Bank of America branch and then drove away.  One problem:  his  license plate remained in the lobby.

Police later arrested Elias Mercado on charges of burglary of a building and evading arrest. Bond was set at $15,000. Officials had no details on an attorney for Mercado.  Police say Mercado plowed his car through two sets of glass doors and into the customer waiting area, circled and struck the teller counter, then drove out the newly created exit. Officers following a trail of glass managed to stop a damaged car, missing a license plate, and arrested Mercado.

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Feb 25, 2011 | 11:55 pm CT

Collinsville, IL  (KSDK) - Some catholic students at Collinsville High School in Illinois are upset because they say they can't wear their Rosary to school. Newschannel Five spoke with one student who was suspended for wearing them.

The student said the high school told him he cannot wear rosary beads to school because they are gang related, and after warning him they suspended him for 5 days. "I was pretty angry," said Rodrigo Avila, a Collinsville High School sophomore.

Avila was suspended from school for wearing rosary beads, something he says is very meaningful to him.  "My godfather gave it to me as a gift. I want to wear my rosary because I am proud of it because I am religious," said Avila.

"He was born and raised in a catholic atmosphere so we're just true believers of the Catholic Church. It's just the significance of him carrying out his faith," said Julia Avila who is Rodrigo's mother. But, Avila says Collinsville High School sees the beads as a sign of something else.  "They say it is gang affiliated," said Avila.

The school's dress code policy does not state any specific rule prohibiting rosary beads. It does state that anything associated or affiliated with gangs is not allowed.

When asked if he was in a gang, Avila said no.  His mother confirmed.

Avila's friend, Eduardo Pacheco, teaches catholic classes after school and is also upset by the school's actions.  "A lot of people today were wearing, they were rebelling," said Pacheco.

Avila says he was told if he ever wore the beads again he would be suspended for ten days or even kicked out of school.

"I hope it (the school's dress code policy), would change I mean it's silly. I really don't think it's a fair policy," said Julia Avila.  "I just want to wear my rosary in school without anyone saying anything," Avila said.

Collinsville High School had no comment on the matter but, the school's dress code does state that the principal has the final authority for judging the appropriateness of a student's appearance.

GAHANNA - Gahanna police were investigating a suspected case of road rage on Thursday that was allegedly caused by McDonald's chicken nuggets.

Police said that on Feb. 14, a teen bit into a chicken nugget from the restaurant on North Hamilton Road, 10TV News reported.  The teen told police that he did not like the taste and tossed it out his car window. When the teen threw the nugget out the window it struck another car that was pulling into the parking lot.  The driver of the other car allegedly got out and punched a hole in the teen's window before driving away.

The other driver has not been identified and no arrests have been made.

(Thanks Lori Dudley/Fredricktown)

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Ga. Girl Scouts fear arrest for cookie peddling

Feb 24, 2011 | 10:03 pm ET

Villa Rica, GA - A Girl Scout leader says young members of her troop thought they were headed to jail when a Georgia police officer told them to quit selling cookies.

The girls had set up a stand at a strip mall in Villa Rica about 30 miles west of Atlanta on Wednesday when the officer asked them if they had a peddler's permit. They didn't.  Troop Leader Kathy Crook told WXIA-TV in Atlanta that she was stunned. She says the scouts were told to pack it up.  And she says the younger members thought they would be taken to jail.

The city's police chief and mayor spoke with the officer. They say he did nothing wrong and that it was a misunderstanding.  The troop now has a permit to sell. And to smooth things over, the city is offering the scouts a pizza party.

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Feb 24, 2011 | 5:16 pm ET - The Orange County Register

Two California men were arrested after they attempted to steal snacks and beer in front of four Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, authorities say, and security video released Wednesday appears to back up that story. The two men apparently didn't notice the four deputies inside the Chevron Food Mart in the 14000 block of Rosecrans Avenue in La Mirada or the pair of marked patrol vehicles parked on the side of the store when they attempted to steal $18.76 worth of merchandise just before 4 a.m. Jan. 23, authorities said.

Surveillance video released by the Sheriff's Department on Wednesday shows the pair entering the food mart shortly after the deputies, walking around the store for about 30 seconds before grabbing snacks and beer and running out the store. Four deputies chased the two men, reportedly catching them as they tried to enter their vehicle.

Jacob Wallace, 29, of Costa Mesa and Robert Martin, 19, of Victorville are each facing burglary and petty theft charges, authorities said. The two have been released from custody pending a court hearing.

(Thanks HEATHER JONES/Habash & Reasoner, LLP!)

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Feb 24, 2011 | 12:47 pm ET

Washington, D.C. - He didn't exactly stand much chance of getting away with it.  And last Wednesday the man described as 'the most stupid criminal ever', who stole a laptop then posted a leering photo of himself on its owner's Facebook page, pleaded guilty to burglary in Washington D.C.

Last December, Rodney Knight Jr, 19, broke into the home of Washington Post journalist Marc Fisher and stole his 15-year-old son's laptop computer, $400, a winter coat and another laptop.  His own wanted poster: Rodney Knight Jr not only broke into a house and stole a laptop, but then posted a picture of himself on its owner's Facebook page.  Except to rub salt in the wound, as well as stealing the family's property, Knight also decided to taunt them with his very own calling card.

Mr Fisher wrote: 'He opened my son's computer, took a photo of himself sneering as he pointed to the cash lifted from my son's desk, and then went on my son's Facebook account and posted the picture for 400 teenagers to see.  'In the picture, the man is wearing my new winter coat, the one that was stolen right out of the Macy's box it had just arrived in.'

Although Knight put the hood up on the brand-new coat, the full-frontal picture still clearly showed his face.  Mr Fisher said one police officer told him: 'I've seen a lot, but this is the most stupid criminal I've ever seen.'  But Mr Fisher said the worst loss was not the property, but a document his son had been working on for years.

Despite Knight virtually designing his own wanted poster, it still took police almost a month to track him down.  He was arrested on January 2, when officers found him in a Washington alleyway clutching his waistband.  When they searched him, they found he was carrying a loaded gun, and yesterday Knight also pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a licence.

He is due to be sentenced on May 4.

(Thanks HEATHER NELSON!)

Neighbor's Hallucinations Lead Police To Suspected Drug Lab

Feb 21, 2011 | 5:18 pm ET

Southwest Greensburg, PA - Police in Westmoreland County said they were alerted to what was suspected to be an illegal drug lab in Southwest Greensburg when a neighbor in a nearby apartment started hallucinating.

Pennsylvania State Police removed 13 chemicals from a first-floor apartment at the intersection of Brandon Street and Alexander Avenue on Monday.  The owner of the chemicals has not been arrested and told Channel 4 Action News’ Sheldon Ingram that he was not running an illegal drug lab. 

“I was trying to find new novel substances. I wasn't trying to make anything illegal,” he told Ingram.  When asked if he was specifically making ecstasy, the man replied, “No, but things that might have the same effects as ecstasy, but not with the same chemical structure.”

Ingram reported that investigators went to the man’s apartment when a neighbor, Daniel Corsaro, complained about hallucinations after chemicals started seeping into their apartment.

"I was hallucinating and actually got admitted to the hospital and they had me labeled more or less psychotic … without a reason. They didn't know if it was organic or how it was induced. And we put two and two together and figured out the fumes were coming upstairs," Corsaro said.  Corsaro said the fumes affected himself, his girlfriend and their cat.

“He had let it slip at one time that he had ‘a lab,’ and I was like, ‘Whoa, dude. What are you talking about? A lab?’ He sure didn’t mean a dog,” said Corsaro.

Ingram reported that Corsaro told his landlord about the issue, who then called state police.

Investigators said a strong odor was apparent in the apartment, but the odor had dissipated by 7 a.m. on Monday.

(Thanks GREG LARGE - ERA Real Estate/Columbus!)

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Egyptian Man Names Daughter "Facebook"

Feb 21, 2011 | 10:27 am

So you thought people in this country named their children oddly, with names like "Apple", "Rumer" and "Mathew" with one "T," but one man in Egypt may have topped them all.

Inspired by the role Facebook played in the recent protests and ultimate overthrow of Egypt's president, the twenty-something year-old man felt a need express his thanks, and and did-so by naming his newborn girl "Facebook."

TechMeme translates the snippet from Al-Ahram (one of the most popular newspapers in Egypt):

A young man in his twenties wanted to express his gratitude about the victories the youth of 25th of January have achieved and chose to express it in the form of naming his firstborn girl “Facebook” Jamal Ibrahim (his name.) The girl’s family, friends, and neighbors in the Ibrahimya region gathered around the new born to express their continuing support for the revolution that started on Facebook. “Facebook” received many gifts from the youth who were overjoyed by her arrival and the new name. A name [Facebook] that shocked the entire world.

While it may not have the prettiest ring to it, the girl should be thankful that HotorNot.com didn't have anything to do with the revolution.
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Feb 19, 2011 | 8:30 pm CT - Myfox9.com - Minneapolis/St. Paul

Bradenton, FL - A Minnesota man is dead after he crashed his motorcycle into a cow in the Tampa Bay area.

The Florida Highway Patrol says 69-year-old Maurice Anthony Fugere of Cottage Grove, Minn., was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle Friday night on U.S. Highway 41 when he struck a cow in the road.

Authorities say the impact sent the man flying. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

(Thanks CHERYL RYAN!)

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Feb 18th 2011 | 1:00 pm ET

Cleveland, OH - A Cleveland grandfather picked a 3-year-old child from day care and drove all the way home before realizing the tot he'd towed from the center was not his grandson.

Staffers at the Fatima Family Center realized the error when that child's mother arrived to pick up her son and he was gone, Ohio's WEW-TV reports.  Both kids were safe and sound after the accidental child swap and were returned to the correct sets of relatives within a half hour, Cleveland police said.

The daycare center's director, Bernadette Washington, said the organization would review its child pickup policies with staff to make sure no more of its young charges were released to the wrong guardians. No charges have been filed.

(Thanks RHONDA TABOR-Riverside Pulmonary Associates!)

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Feb 18, 8:12 am ET

Beijing, China - Surgeons in southern China successfully removed a rusty, 4-inch knife from the skull of a man who said it had been stuck in there for up to four years, the hospital said Friday.

Li Fuyan, 30, had been suffering from severe headaches, bad breath and breathing difficulties but never knew the cause of his discomfort, said the senior official at the Yuxi City People's Hospital in Yunnan Province.

Li told doctors he had been stabbed in the lower right jaw by a robber four years ago and the blade broke off inside his head without anyone realizing it, said the director of the hospital's Communist Party committee's office who would only give his surname, He.

Surgeons worked cautiously to remove the badly-corroded blade without shattering it, He said. The hospital's website also reported the successful surgery.

The case, which one of the doctors described as a "miracle," has been widely covered by the Chinese media and discussed on the Internet.

"We checked his mouth, but no wound or scar has been found. It is very strange as to how the blade got into his head," Xu Wen, deputy director of the hospital's stomatology department, told state broadcaster CCTV.

CCTV showed footage of the rusted knife and interviewed Li, who said: "As time passed, I used injections to kill the pain in my head and ears. It has been four years already."

Dr. Eugene Flamm, chairman of neurosurgery at New York's Montefiore Medical Center, said X-ray images of the man's head posted on the hospital's website show the knife sitting behind the man's throat, having missed the carotid artery and other key structures.

"There are planes and spaces between important organs. That's how one does surgery - you dissect in those planes, move the trachea one way, the esophagus the other," he said.

"Maybe out of sheer luck this knife passed through" one such area, Flamm said, adding that he was still surprised at the time the blade supposedly spent in the man's body.

(Thanks JOHNA HURLEY!)

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North Dakota mom offers breast milk online

Feb 20, 2011 | 4:54pm CT

Bismarck, N.D. - A North Dakota woman says she produces so much breast milk she's offering it for sale on Craigslist.

Breanna Clemons, 26, of Bismarck told The Grand Forks Herald, "As we speak, I have over 200 bags."  She is asking $2 per ounce but says she is mainly trying to help mothers who cannot nurse and whose babies cannot drink formula.  "If someone were to inquire, I would pump it and store it, so it would be as fresh as possible for them," she said.

So far, Clemons, who is married and has two young children, has had no takers.  The Human Milk Banking Association of North America discourages free-lance selling of breast milk. She said the organization screens donors for HIV, hepatitis and drug use. Milk banks pool the milk of several donors and pasteurize it, Drulis said.

Clemons said she is willing to meet with customers, have them visit her home and let them review her medical records.

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Feb. 19, 2011 | 12:40 am CT - By CHRISTINE VENDEL/The Kansas City Star

Kansas City, MO - Two men Thursday used an unloaded revolver to try to rob a Northland gun store, even though the clerk wore a shoulder holster with a semiautomatic handgun in plain view.  Not surprisingly, the holdup failed miserably. In fact, the robbers lost $40. 

They could have lost more, said the 65-year-old clerk, who didn’t want his name published.

“I wear this gun like this, hoping it will be a deterrent,” the clerk said Friday. “But he (the gunman) basically made his own decision to take the chance of dying — and he just about did.”  

It all started about 2 p.m. when one of the robbers came into Guns Unlimited, 8113 N. Oak Trafficway, and asked for a box of .357 Magnum ammunition. The clerk told him it would cost about $50. The man, who looked to be in his 20s, said he needed to get more money and left.  Just before 5 p.m., he returned with a partner and said he wanted to buy the ammunition. The clerk looked at his identification to check his age, rang up the sale and told the man he owed $50.19. The man slid two $20 bills onto the counter.

“You’re $10.19 short,” the clerk said.  The man pulled a blue .357 revolver with a 4-inch barrel from his waistband, pointed it at the clerk and said, “Give me your money!”

The clerk had practiced for just such an occasion. He was ready.  He zeroed in on the robber’s cylinder and saw it was empty as he reached for his own gun and pulled it from its holster.

“His eyes got as big as two dinner plates,” the clerk said. “Before I got mine pointed at him, he ran to the door at, like, 95 mph. I’m surprised he didn’t bust the glass out of the door.”

The clerk, who had started to squeeze his trigger, relaxed his finger as the robbers fled, leaving behind the two $20 bills.  “I was going to shoot him,” the clerk said. “Everything that could have gone wrong could have, but didn’t.”

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Police: When Ocala man dared girlfriend to fire, she shot him dead

Feb 18, 2011 | 10:58 pm ET - By Jeff Weiner - Orlando Sentinel

Orlando, FL - When his girlfriend grabbed an antique gun during an argument, police say Rodney Lee Gilbert told her to go ahead and fire.

According to police, that's exactly what Kimberly Gustafson did. Now, Gilbert is dead, and Gustafson is behind bars.  Police were called to the couple's home on Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala about 12:45 a.m. Thursday. Officers arriving said they found that Gilbert, 57, had been shot in the face.

He was taken to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries. Police said they spoke to witnesses, who said Gilbert had been fighting with Gustafson over her drinking. During the argument, witnesses said Gustafson, 50, went into a bedroom, returning with an antique firearm.

When she cocked it, police say witnesses in the house, including Gilbert's ex-wife, pleaded for Gustafson not to shoot. Gustafson walked away, police said, back toward the bedroom.

But just as the confrontation was cooling, police say Gilbert stood up and told his girlfriend to "go ahead and shoot me."  Witnesses told police Gilbert followed Gustafson into the hallway, telling her repeatedly to fire.

That's when police say Gustafson turned and fired, striking Gilbert in the face at point-blank range. She fled in her car and was later found on College Road, police said.  Gustafson was booked into the Marion County Jail, charged with manslaughter with a firearm and domestic violence. Records show she remained in jail late Friday.

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Prostitution sting nets 70-year-old woman

Feb 18, 2011 at 1:52 pm ET - www.heraldtribune.com

CHARLOTTE COUNTY - Authorities arrested four women, including a 70-year-old, on prostitution charges following a raid at a Port Charlotte spa Thursday.

Acting on a tip, undercover sheriff's detectives began surveillance at Mandala Health Spa and determined the women had received compensation for sex within the business on numerous occasions, according to an arrest report.  Thursday evening the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant and raided the business.

Arrested were Ann Marie McPeak, 37, of Port Charlotte; Mya Angelica Davis, 28, of Englewood; Collette Marie Bailey, 22, of Port Charlotte and Elaine F. Pyzikiewicz, 70, of Port Charlotte.

Investigators say McPeak is the operator of the business where a client pays a door fee to enter, the Sheriff's Office reported. Pyzikiewicz has worked at the spa for four months and has the state massage license in her name.

Bailey, Davis and Pyzikiewicz were all charged with remaining in a place for the purpose of prostitution, while McPeak was charged with deriving support from prostitution. Davis was additionally charged with two counts possession of Xanax and Diazapam.

All four women were taken to the Charlotte County Jail, where they later posted bail.

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Malaysia police nab 3 for stealing 725,000 condoms

Feb 17, 2011 11:02 pm ET

Kuala Lampur, Malaysia -  Malaysian police have arrested three suspects involved in the heist of some 725,000 condoms, which have not yet been found.

Mohamad Shukri Dahlan, the police chief of Malaysia's northern Perak state, says the heist was "an inside job." He said Friday the suspects work for the firm responsible for transporting the condoms from the factory to the port, where they were to be shipped to Japan.

Sagami Rubber Industries Co., one of Japan's biggest condom makers, said 85,000 boxes of ultra-thin condoms vanished last month in the heist. The merchandise was worth $1.5 million.

The suspects intended to sell the condoms in Malaysia, but Mohamad Shukri said they had probably not succeeded.

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Feb 14, 2010 | 11:54 am - The Huffington Post

Arlington Heights, IL - Police are calling a January burglary of a northwest suburban home "disturbing"--not just because of the stolen goods, but because the young burglars killed goldfish to avoid leaving "any witnesses."

According to TribLocal, a Nintendo game system, CD player, 30 video games, 30 DVDs, a BB gun, jewelry and fire safe containing personal papers and photographs were stolen from an Arlington Heights home sometime between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.  When the homeowners returned, not only did they find their belongings stolen, but found their goldfish had been poisoned. Someone had poured hot sauce, mustard, ketchup and spices into their fish tank, and all three fish were dead.

Three teenagers were arrested for the burglary, according to the Daily Herald, and a 16-year-old involved with the incident reportedly told officers he "didn't want to leave any witnesses," so he killed the fish. The boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, allegedly targeted the home because it had been evacuated following a Jan. 19 fire.

Police called the goldfish killing "disturbing," and the 16-year-old faces cruelty to animals charges in addition to a residential burglary charge.

(Thanks MELISSA LORENZ and TINA SHOEMAKER!)

Law to protect German kids' right to noise

Feb 16, 2011 | 8:45 am ET
Berlin, Germany - Children of Germany take heart - it may soon be perfectly legal to make noise.  Germany is so desperate to encourage people to have more children that the government is proposing a bill allowing citizens under six to laugh, shout and play at any volume. 

The government's move comes after a series of lawsuits about children and noise, and a recent call from a senior citizens' chapter of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, who sought to ban kindergartens from residential areas because they are too loud.

The government said Wednesday the proposed law would exempt children from strict regulations on noise limits, which force construction sites to stand idle for hours at midday and prohibit mowing lawns on Sunday.

(Thanks KEN HORTON/Gahanna!)

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Feb 16, 2011 | 6:07 am ET

Shiremanstown, PA - Police say a central Pennsylvania man random made phone calls - sometimes more than 400 in a single day - and tried to get women to engage in sexually explicit conversations about pantyhose.

Upper Allen Township police say 43-year-old Rip Alan Swartz turned himself in Tuesday to face harassment charges. Investigators say he placed calls to businesses across the country over the last five years.  Authorities say Swartz would try to get female employees to talk to him, sometimes calling multiple times.

The Shiremanstown man faces charges in Cumberland and Dauphin counties. The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports he is free on bail on condition he not visit Hooters, Bob Evans, Applebee's or the First National Bank of Marysville.

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Information from: The Patriot-News, http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews

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Feb 16, 2011 | 4:46 am MT

Denver, CO - A Colorado man had just proposed to his girlfriend on Valentine's Day-and she said "yes"-when he dropped an heirloom wedding band into a storm drain in downtown Denver. But Denver firefighters came to the rescue and helped John Iverson find the ring after 45 minutes of sifting through muck dredged up from the storm sewer.

The ring belonged to Iverson's future mother-in-law. Iverson managed to get the diamond engagement ring onto his fiancee's finger without a hitch.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate/Columbus!)
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Feb 16, 12:44 am ET

Yangon, Myanmar - A mother in Myanmar says her baby girl's 12 fingers and 14 toes have been no disadvantage - her grip may even be stronger than normal - and now she's grasping for a Guinness record.

Phyo Min Min Soe, 26, knew her girl Le Yati Min had a little something extra since nearly the moment she was born.  "I asked the nurses whether my kid was born complete with hands and legs," says her mother. "They replied that the baby even has more than she needs."

Born with 12 fingers and 14 toes, Le may be the most "digitally enhanced" person in the world. Now, the 16-month-old girl's family in impoverished Myanmar is seeking a Guinness World Record to prove it.  A neighbor is helping her mother apply to claim the record hearing that a boy from India currently holds bragging rights for the most digits, with 12 fingers and 13 toes.

Polydactylism - being born with an extra finger or toe - is fairly unusual, but it is even more rare for someone to have spare functional digits on both hands and feet, as Le does.  Le lives with her family in a small wooden house on the outskirts of the Southeast Asian country's former capital of Yangon, where she runs around with seven toes on each foot.

Proud mom Phyo Min Min Soe, 26, said Tuesday that she'd be happy to see Le gain a world record, but even without that, her daughter already has a happy life, and even some natural advantages.  "She seems to have a stronger grip on things - so she doesn't drop things much," she says, as Le plays nearby with a mobile phone.

According to the Guinness World Records website, the record for most fingers and toes for a living person is currently held by two people in India, who have 12 fingers and 13 toes each.

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Feb 16, 2011 | 12:39 am ET - By Todd Wright - NBCMIAMI.com

·        Miami, FL - Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but that doesn't mean you should break into a school to get it.

Four men have been arrested after they were caught roaming the halls of John Ferguson High School in Miami with some interesting stolen loot.  Along with a computer and an iPod headset, the men were also carrying two trays of French toast.  Delicious choice, but bad execution.

Edel Garcia, 21, Jonathan Alexander Swadener, 18, and 20-year-olds Steven Fabian Gonzalez and Omar Antonio Jiminez were caught early Monday morning after they tripped silent alarms at the school, police said.  Police believe the bandits would have stolen more if not for speedy response and the crooks' cavalier approach.

The group is charged with burglary, and they can kiss their choices to satisfy their appetites goodbye in jail.

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Feb 15, 2011 | 12:34 PM CT - By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO/Brownsville Herald

Brownsville, TX - Surveillance stopped a pair of alleged drug smugglers from hauling about 273 kilos of marijuana over the border fence with the help of a ladder, public records reflect.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent on Thursday saw 10 people coming out of the Rio Grande carrying bundles and a ladder near the Rancho Grande Subdivision in La Paloma.  The agent saw the suspects use the ladder to get the bundles over the border fence, according to the complaint filed before U.S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio in federal court.

The complaint states that the agent also saw a green minivan drive in the area on the opposite side of the border fence. The agent followed the vehicle to a vacant home site north of U.S. Highway 281. The driver and passenger exited the vehicle and began to run away in an attempt to evade arrest.

The agent apprehended Mauro Beltran-Guevara and a person matching the driver’s description was located in the area, according to court records. He was identified as Angel Serrato-Garza.  Six cellophane-wrapped bundles of marijuana were located in the rear passenger compartment of the minivan, according to the complaint. Two other bundles were located on the south side of the border fence where the ladder had been placed.

The two men were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute the marijuana. They are being held without bond.

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Feb 15, 2011 | 6:47 am PT - The Seattle Times

New Britain, CT - A Connecticut man accused of stabbing a friend to death and injuring three other people at a party because people were making fun of his flatulence has pleaded not guilty.

Marc Higgins of Bristol pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges in New Britain on Monday.  Police say the 21-year-old Higgins was "very drunk" at a Bristol house party last month and was ridiculed because of flatulence. Police say one woman even slapped him because of it.

Police say at that point he stormed out of the party and returned about 45 minutes later with three knives and started stabbing people indiscriminately. One man even died of his wounds. Three others were injured. Higgins told police he was angry and wanted to show that people shouldn't make fun of him.

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Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com

(Thanks THERESA SHORT/Ohio Health!)

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Feb 15, 2011 - The Daily Standard - Celina, OH       

An Auglaize County woman faces felony charges of operating a vehicle under the influence after being stopped twice by Celina Police.

Jennifer R. Shoup, 35, of Buckland, remains incarcerated at the Mercer County Adult Detention Center following a Monday afternoon appearance in Celina Municipal Court.

The charges stem from several incidents taking place late Friday afternoon. Police responded to reports of an intoxicated woman driving a vehicle near Dollar General on Havemann Road. The vehicle was subsequently stopped at 5:48 p.m.  Shoup was arrested and processed at the police station, where her blood-alcohol content was determined to be more than twice the legal limit, according to a news release from Chief Dave Slusser.

She was released into the custody of an adult friend after being served with OVI and driving under suspension citations (DUS).

A short time later another police officer observed someone being dropped off by the suspect's car and then driving away. The officer followed the vehicle and stopped it a second time after spotting a traffic violation.  Shoup, who was behind the wheel, was arrested a second time for OVI and DUS as well as an open container violation. This time officers took her to jail on a $25,000 cash bond. The vehicle was towed and impounded

Slusser explained each of the felony charges contains two counts - one for operating a motor vehicle under the influence and the other for operating a vehicle with an illegal-blood alcohol limit. The woman reportedly has prior convictions for similar offenses in the past six years.

A preliminary hearing will be held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the felony charges to merit presentation to a grand jury. Shoup also could waive her right to such a proceeding, in which case the matter will be transferred to Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

For the misdemeanor charges, Shoup pleaded guilty Monday and was fined $150 on the two DUS offenses and $50 for the open container violation plus court costs. Municipal Court Judge James Scheer also imposed three days in jail with credit for time served since her arrest.

(Thanks ROB GRUBAUGH/Columbus ...and a Celina native, for this one!)

Feb 14, 2011 | 2:33 pm ET

Columbus - CPD and the FBI are looking for a bank robbery suspect whom they say made a critical error.

Investigators said a man entered the Huntington Bank at 1928 N. High St. shortly after 9 a.m. Monday morning with the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.  The suspect lowered the hood of his sweatshirt, walked up to the teller and said he had a gun and wanted cash, agents said.

After the teller began to remove cash from his drawer, police said the suspect realized his face was exposed and put the hood back over his head.  The suspect was described as a white male who is approximately 30 years old. He's 5 feet 10 inches tall with a medium build. He has balding, buzzed brown hair and a moustache.  He was wearing a grey-and-black striped, hooded sweatshirt; blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

(Thanks JANET LOPER!)

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Feb 14, 2011 | 2:22 pm ET - WTOV9.com/Steubenville-Wheeling

Steubenville, OH - A woman pleaded guilty to theft charges after she was accused of stealing a number of items from a Steubenville hospital over the weekend.

Kimberly Senile was accused of taking items ranging from needles and syringes to lubricating jelly from Trinity Medical Center West.  A Steubenville Police report states that Senile was being treated at the hospital when a staff member noticed her trying to leave the facility with her purse and a hospital bag containing the stolen items.

According to the police report, the items included 24 needles and syringes, 26 swabs, five tape rolls, two bed sheets, one gown, one pillow case, one blood pressure cuff, 16 tongue depressors, 17 prep pads, one power mediport access tube, lubricating jelly, one breath activated nebulizer, one breather mask and one urinal.

"I was wrong in what I did," Senile said in Steubenville Municipal Court Monday morning. "I acted irresponsibly. I was angry, not at [the hospital], just in general."  A judge asked Senile several times if she used drugs. Each time she denied any drug use, including when the judge asked her why she took the needles.  "I was just taking anything. I do not use," she said.

There were no drugs taken from the hospital, according to police, however a woman claiming to be Senile's mother addressed the court, saying that her daughter is an addict and that she needs help.  "She's an addict and I wanted to know if she can get rehab," the woman told the judge.

The woman also told the court that Senile has been a drug user for several years and that her 2-year-old son is being put at risk.  Senile only admitted to previous drug use when pressed by the judge.  "I do have a past history, yes," she said.

Senile claimed she stopped using after one of her kids asked her to, and she never gave a specific reason for taking the items from the hospital.  A spokesman for Trinity Medical Center West declined to comment on the case, and referred all questions on the matter to the Steubenville Police Department.

The judge delayed sentencing on the crime until Feb. 17. Senile was ordered to contact two treatment programs before returning to the court. The judge said she would also be drug tested prior to sentencing.

Senile was to be released from the Jefferson County Jail following court Monday.

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Feb 14, 2011 | 9:17am CT -  Dave Phillips/The Macomb Daily

Rochester Hills, IL - A Pontiac woman’s alleged theft attempt was foiled this week when her motorized cart became stuck at a Rochester Hills Meijer.

Jerrie Perkins, 30, is charged with unarmed robbery, resisting and obstructing a police officer and second-degree retail fraud.  Her bond was set at $15,000 by 52-3 District Magistrate Nick Camargo during arraignment Thursday.

Investigators said Perkins was attempting to leave the Rochester Road Meijer with more than $600 worth of stolen electronic merchandise when her cart got stuck and she was unable to drive out the door.  The door alarm was activated when Perkins passed through it around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, and Meijer employees approached her asking for a receipt for the items.

Perkins — approximately 5 foot 2 and 400 pounds — shoved a loss prevention officer and hit her in the face, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.  A sheriff’s deputy arrived and asked Perkins to put her hands behind her back, but she “cursed at the deputy, balled her right hand into a fist and took a fighting stance,” according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.

The deputy pulled his Taser and told Perkins to put her hands behind her back, but Perkins brought her fist up over her head and looked directly at the deputy.  The deputy Tasered Perkins, who then complied with the deputy’s commands and was taken to jail.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate-First/Columbus!)

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Feb 14, 2011 |  1:11 am ET

New London, CT - Police arrested a hairstylist working at Eva's Beauty Salon on Ocean Avenue Saturday after she allegedly attacked a dissatisfied, pregnant client with a pair of scissors.

Jovetta Wilson, 33, of 392 Jefferson Ave., allegedly struck the victim in the face, neck and hand after the customer complained about being unhappy with a haircut, said Deputy Chief Marshall Segar. The injured victim was transported to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, and told police she was pregnant, Segar said.

Wilson was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree assault, assault on a pregnant person, and risk of injury to a minor. She was released on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on Feb. 25, police said.

The salon owner could not be reached to comment.

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Feb. 14, 2011   1:05 am CT

Des Moines, IA - There's a food fight brewing in federal court in Iowa.

The dispute centers on one question: Is the term "footlong" a noun that describes sandwiches served by the Subway restaurant chain, or is it an adjective used to describe any 12-inch sandwich?  That question, which has national implications tied to several multimillion-dollar ad campaigns, may soon be put to an Iowa jury.

Casey's General Stores of Ankeny is suing Subway in an effort to fight the latter company's claim of exclusive rights to the non-hyphenated, grammatically tortured term "footlong" in promoting sandwiches and related services.  For years, Subway, with 34,000 outlets in 93 countries, has promoted its line of specially priced 12-inch sandwiches, some of which are described as "five-dollar footlongs."

Casey's, which has 1,600 stores in the Midwest, is in the process of rolling out a similar promotion. At 180 of its locations, Casey's is now offering made-to-order sandwiches and is using the term "footlong" on signs and menus.  Three weeks ago, one of Subway's lawyers, Valerie Pochron, wrote to Casey's and asserted proprietary rights to "footlong" and other elements of the Casey's campaign.  "Additionally, the offers of soup and pizza, as well as the design of the advertising offers, are all designed to create confusion to the average consumer," Pochron wrote.

Subway threatened to sue, but Casey's took the initiative and on Friday filed a petition in U.S. District Court. Casey's is asking for a jury trial and is seeking a declaration that the term "footlong" is generic and does not violate any trademark owned by Subway. Casey's is also asking for unspecified damages over Subway's "frivolous" claims.

"Casey's has and will continue to use 'footlong' to describe a sandwich," Casey's attorneys said in their petition.

Subway's trademark application for "footlong" has yet to be approved by the federal government. A&W, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's and other restaurants are opposing the application.

The company that owns Subway, Doctor's Associates Inc., has yet to file a response to Casey's petition. No trial date has been set.  The outcome of the case could affect restaurant menus across the nation.

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Feb 13, 2011 |  2:40 pm ET - Naples Daily News

Immokalee, FL - Outraged when he learned the women he bought drinks for were actually men in drag, an Immokalee man was arrested by Collier County Sheriff’s deputies Saturday after causing a ruckus in the bar.

Josue A. Hernandez, 27, of an unknown Immokalee address, according to reports, was at a bar on Boston Avenue in Immokalee when he learned the people he was socializing with and purchased drinks for, which he believed to be female, “were in fact men dressed in women’s clothing,” according to deputies. He then became irate, breaking bottles, starting fights with other customers and causing a disturbance, deputies said.

A large, fixed-blade, hunting-type knife was discovered in Hernandez’s waistband. The knife, which had a wooden handle and a 6-inch blade, was hidden under his shirt, according to reports. The knife is the kind “normally used for the skinning and gutting of deer and other large animals and was in no way a common pocket knife based on its blade length and design,” deputies said.

Hernandez was arrested shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday and charged with disorderly intoxication and carrying a concealed weapon.

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Feb 13, 2011 | 5:58 am ET -  Angel McCurdy/Northwest Daily News

Destin, FL - A 47-year-old man told deputies he had been drinking for "two or three days" when he was caught driving with a suspended license.

According to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's report, first responders went to the scene of a traffic crash on U.S. Highway 98.  The driver of the vehicle at fault was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola for his injuries and EMS told deputies they smelled alcohol on him.

The man later spoke with deputies and stated that he had been drinking the day of the crash and continued saying he had been "drinking for two or three days."  He also said his license had been suspended for "a long time." Blood tests showed his blood-alcohol level was .302 at the time of the crash.

He was arrested Feb. 5 on charges of traffic offense, operating a vehicle with a suspended license and failure to have required endorsement on license. These charges are listed as misdemeanors.

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Feb 12, 2011 | 11:16 am ET

Marathon, FL - Authorities say a Florida teen has told police that bite marks on her body came from "Twilight"-inspired vampire role playing - not from someone who attacked her while she was out jogging.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that the Monroe County Sheriff's Office has charged the 15-year-old girl with making a false report.

Authorities say the girl is a fan of the vampire-based "Twilight" movies and books. The sheriff's office says the girl had engaged in "fantasy biting" with a 19-year-old man in August and worried her mother would see the marks. She told her mother she had been attacked while jogging.  When deputies couldn't find evidence of the attack, the girl eventually revealed what really happened.

No charges have been filed against the 19-year-old man.

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(Thanks THERESA SHORT/Columbus and KEN HORTON/Gahanna!)

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Feb 12, 2011 | 3:30 am ET

Joliet, IL - Authorities in Illinois said a drunken grandmother called 911 with a false report of being held hostage when family members wouldn't hand over her car keys.

Will County sheriff's deputies said Geneva Ward, 48, called 911 Sunday and reported she was being held at gunpoint, but deputies discovered a different situation when they arrived at the Lockport Township home, The (Joliet) Herald-News reported Friday.

"When deputies arrived, they discovered Ward had wanted to drive her grandchildren somewhere, but the parents felt she was too intoxicated and hid her keys," sheriff's spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said. "Ms. Ward stated when she called 911 she said there was a gun because she 'just wanted deputies to get there fast.'"

Hoffmeyer said Ward was charged with disorderly conduct.

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Feb 11, 2011 | 10:53 pm ET

Seattle, WA - Alaska Airlines had to delay a flight about to leave Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when a rat was seen scurrying in the cabin.

The airline says the flight from Seattle to Denver had just pulled away from the gate Thursday morning when the little stowaway was spotted. The 737 jetliner returned to the terminal and passengers and crew boarded another plane about 90 minutes later.

Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan says the plane won't be returned to service until maintenance workers make sure the rat didn't damage equipment or chew any wires — and an exterminator certifies the plane is rodent-free.  Egan says workers also are trying to figure out how the rat got aboard. She says in cold weather, "sometimes rodents can seek shelter in strange places."

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Feb 11, 2011 | 11:00 am ET

Cranston, R.I. -  The scene was like something out of a Woody Allen movie: "Take the Money and Run."  On Thursday night an aspiring bank robber approached the Citizens Bank counter inside the Stop & Shop grocery store at 200 Atwood Avenue.

It was just after 7 p.m. The man handed the teller a note, written on a ripped paper plate: "This is a robbery."  But at the time of the robbery, that message wasn't immediately clear, said Major Robert W. Ryan.  "The note was so poorly written the teller had a hard time deciphering it," Ryan said.  "She saw the word robbery and instinctively pulled down the security curtain."  The teller told the man that the bank branch was closing, Ryan said, and the teller then pulled down the security screen door to emphasize the point.  It was, after all, just after 7 p.m., closing time for the bank.

The man, who was in his 40s, about 5 feet 8 inches of medium build, with a thin mustache and wearing a black-and-yellow jacket, a Boston Red Sox cap with a cap beneath with ear flaps, and latex gloves with yellow tips, walked away quickly, Ryan said.  In addition, Ryan said, the teller said "the man smelled bad."  The man, who did not show a weapon or say that he had one, Ryan said, left with no money.

Eastern Shore deputy charged with shoplifting Five Hour Energy drinks

Feb 9, 2011 |  6:27 a.m. EST  Mike Holtzclaw/Newport News Daily Press

Accormack, VA - A sheriff's deputy on the Eastern Shore has been charged with multiple counts of shoplifting after state police say he repeatedly stole large quantities of Five Hour Energy drinks.

Jerry Spencer Tarr, a deputy in Accomack County, faces 10 counts of petit larceny (shoplifting). Sgt. Michelle Anaya of state police said employees at a Chincoteague convenience store identified Tarr as the man captured on video on 10 separate occasions "stealing several Five Hour Energy drinks."

Anaya said Tarr was investigated and charged with the crimes.

(One of MANY submissions for this batch of DA's from GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate/Columbus!)

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No joke: Ex-mayor's name too funny for Indiana center
Feb 8, 2011 | 5:03 pm ET

Fort Wayne, IN - A former Indiana mayor who won four terms in the 1930s and 1950s is proving less popular with modern-day city leaders, who say they probably won't name a new government center for him because of the jokes his moniker could inspire.

Harry Baals is the runaway favorite in online voting to name the new building in Fort Wayne. But Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy said that probably won't be enough to put the name of the city's longest-tenured mayor on the center.

The issue is pronunciation. The former mayor pronounced his last name "balls." His descendants have since changed it to "bales."

Supporters said it's unfair that the former mayor can't be recognized simply because his name makes some people snicker. But opponents fear that naming the center after Baals would make Fort Wayne the target of late-night television jokes.

"We realize that while Harry Baals was a respected mayor, not everyone outside of Fort Wayne will know that," Malloy said Tuesday in a statement. "We wanted to pick something that would reflect our pride in our community beyond the boundaries of Fort Wayne."

An online site taking suggestions for names showed more than 1,000 votes Tuesday for the Harry Baals Government Center. That's more than three times the votes received by the closest contender.

Jim Baals, 51, who has lived in the city his entire life, said it's unfortunate that his great-uncle's name won't be considered for the building.

"Harry served four terms and was a wonderful mayor. I don't know what the problem is," he said. "I understand people are going to poke fun at it. That's OK. I've lived with that name for 51 years now and I've gotten through it. I think everybody else can, too."

City spokesman Frank Suarez said the city has no regrets about opening the name selection up to people online.

"It is a new way of reaching out to the community," he said. "The fact that 17,000 votes have come in tell us the buzz created by this is really good. When was the last time somebody could say they had fun with their government? We've had fun with this."

Suarez told The Journal Gazette that Mayor Tom Henry will meet with local groups and choose from up to 10 finalists from the suggestions submitted. Online voting ends Friday.

(Thanks THERESA SHORT/Ohio Health for this gem - maybe the Best (yet) of 2011!)

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Feb 8, 2011 | 7:58 am PT
Bucharest, Romania - There's more bad news in the cards for Romania's beleaguered witches.

A month after Romanian authorities began taxing them for their trade, the country's soothsayers and fortune tellers are cursing a new bill that threatens fines or even prison if their predictions don't come true.
Superstition is a serious matter in the land of Dracula, and officials have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect more money and crack down on tax evasion. 
Witches argue they shouldn't be blamed for the failure of their tools.

"They can't condemn witches, they should condemn the cards," Queen Witch Bratara Buzea told The Associated Press by telephone.

Critics say the proposal is a ruse to deflect public attention from the country's many problems. In 2009, Romania needed a euro20 billion ($27.31 billion) International Monetary Fund-led bailout loan to pay salaries and pensions when its economy contracted more than 7 percent. Last year, the economy shrank again. However, this year a slight recovery of 1.5 percent growth is forecast.

"The government doesn't have real solutions, so it invents problems," said Stelian Tanase, a well-known Romanian political commentator.

In January, the government changed labor laws to officially recognize the centuries-old practice of witchcraft as a taxable profession, prompting angry witches to dump poisonous mandrake into the Danube in an attempt to put a hex on them.  The latest bill was passed in the Senate last week, but must still be approved by a financial and labor committee and by the Chamber of Deputies, the other house of Romania's parliament. Bratara called the proposed bill overblown. "I will fight until my last breath for this not to be passed," she said.

Sometimes, she argued, people don't provide their real identities, dates of birth or other personal details, which could skew a seer's predictions. "What about when the client gives false details about themselves? We can't be blamed for that."

The new bill would also require witches to have a permit, to provide their customers with receipts and bar them from practicing near schools and churches.

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Berlin (Reuters) - A retired German priest has been charged with 50 counts of fraud over the theft of 1 million euros' ($1.4 million) worth of church donations, state prosecutors in Wuerzburg said Tuesday.
The former Roman Catholic priest, aged 77, was detained in May on suspicion of taking donations and collection money from his church in Bavaria. Most of the money, including a large number of coins, was found in his apartment and bank accounts.

"A large portion of the money was recovered," Wuerzburg state prosecutor Dietrich Geuder told Reuters.  The priest retired from his parish in 2009. The state court in Wuerzburg will decide whether he should go on trial.

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Feb 8, 2011 | 10:35 am ET

Seattle, WA - Authorities have made an arrest in a weekend convenience store robbery that a Seattle store owner found remarkable for the robber's politeness.

Sgt. John Urquhart, of the King County Sheriff's Office, says officers quickly identified a suspect from tips received after surveillance video of Saturday's robbery "went viral."  The man is seen in the video telling White Center Shell station owner John Henry: "I'm robbing you, sir."

He takes $300, apologizing and saying he has bills to pay and children to feed. If he ever gets back on his feet, he tells Henry, he'll pay the money back.  Urquhart did not identify the 65-year-old man arrested Monday at a residence near the robbery site. The suspect has convictions for armed robbery and forgery.

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Police: Woman allegedly hit man with frozen steak

Feb 8, 2011 | 7:50 am ET

Houma, LA - Police in the southern Louisiana city of Houma say a woman upset over her lack of freezer space allegedly hit her boyfriend in the face with a frozen beefsteak.

Police told The Courier newspaper that 47-year-old Edith Tassin - also known as Edith Verdin - was booked with aggravated battery against 51-year-old Jerry Voisin. Authorities say she has since been released on bond.

Police say Voisin called police on Sunday evening and told them Tassin was trying to cool a mixed drink and became upset when it woudn't fit in the freezer.  Police say Voisin was bleeding from the right side of his face when officers arrived.

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Feb 8, 2011 | 9:11 am ET

London (AFP) – A British town council said Tuesday it had approved plans to use the heat from a crematorium to warm up the swimming pool next door.

The local authority in Redditch, a town outside Birmingham in central England, reckons the move will cut energy waste. Work on a link between the town's crematorium and its new leisure centre will begin later this year following the council decision. A senior official from Unison, Britain's second biggest trade union, has called the plan "sick", "insulting and insensitive".

However, Redditch Borough Council leader Carole Gandy said correspondence showed that up to nine in 10 locals were in favour of the idea. "Many respondents have in fact praised the council for being so innovative and for being willing to discuss the idea openly," she said.  "We have been careful to explain how the technology would work, that it is tried and trusted, and that the practice is quite common in parts of Europe and especially in Sweden."

The heating scheme will be the first of its kind in Britain. The council said the plan will save more than ($22,500, 16,500 euros) a year.

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Abandoned toilet raises eyebrows
Police: Suspicious toilet with phone not dangerous

Feb 8, 2011 | 7:47 am EST
Towson, MD - Police say a suspicious toilet bearing a cell phone and a radio or TV transmitter were left outside a local government building in Towson, but authorities say it proved harmless and didn't contain an explosive device.

A Baltimore County police spokesman, Lt. Robert McCullough, said they have a lead to a possible suspect after the toilet was discovered Monday morning on a sidewalk outside the offices of the county executive and county council.  McCullough says the toilet was decorated with images and notes, but he didn't elaborate on the content of the notes. He says the toilet and materials were arranged in a way that raised suspicion.

McCullough says a hazardous device team, a bomb sniffing dog and crime lab personnel were summoned to investigate.

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Police jail two in the case of the pink dog

Feb 8, 2011 | 5:00 am EST - The Tribune-Star  Lisa Trigg

TERRE HAUTE — Two Terre Haute men were arrested Saturday when police went looking for a man accused of painting a dog pink in West Terre Haute.

Detective Teddy York of the West Terre Haute Police testified Monday in Vigo Superior Court 1 that police were called at about 7 p.m. Saturday by a woman who reported that someone had painted her white 8-year-old dog pink.

The woman said the paint had rubbed off onto her furniture and vehicle, and she requested a trespass warning be issued for a person she suspected.

York stated that police found out that the suspect, Robert Carter, 19, had an active warrant for his arrest, so officers went to his residence in the 300 block of South 13th Street. When police knocked at an upstairs apartment, a man who officers identified as Carter peeked through a window and asked police to wait a minute. When officers knocked again, the door was opened by Quinton Brady, 22. York stated that Brady allegedly said that Carter was not at the residence, but because the officers had seen the suspect, they entered the residence and searched for him. Carter was found hiding under blankets on an outside balcony, York said.

Brady was arrested for assisting a criminal, a class-D felony. He was released from jail on his own recognizance. On Monday, Judge John Roach found probable cause for Brady’s arrest, and ordered him to return to court Thursday for filing of formal charges.

Carter was arrested on the warrant for theft out of Vigo Superior Court 3. Carter appeared in court on Monday, where Judge David Bolk set a July 26 trial date on the theft charge. The warrant for Carter alleges that he took electronics and other items from a person on Jan. 18.

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Rooster with razor kills man at cockfight

Feb. 8, 2011 | 6:28 am CT

Delano, CA - A Central California man who was at a cockfight died after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its own limb, officials confirmed Monday.

Jose Luis Ochoa, 35, of Lamont, was declared dead at a hospital about two hours after he was injured in neighboring Tulare County on Jan. 30, the Kern County coroner said.  An autopsy concluded Ochoa died of an accidental "sharp force injury" to his right calf.

Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said it was unclear if a delay in seeking medical attention contributed to Ochoa's death.  "I have never seen this type of incident," Sgt. Martin King, a 24-year veteran of the sheriff's department, told the Bakersfield Californian.

Ochoa and the other spectators fled when authorities arrived at the scene of the fight, King told the newspaper. Deputies found five dead roosters and other evidence of cockfighting at the location, he said.  No arrests were made at the cockfight.  Cockfighting is a sport, illegal in the United States, in which specially bred roosters are put into a ring and encouraged to fight until one is incapacitated or killed.

According to Kern County Superior Court records, Ochoa paid $370 in fines last year after pleading no contest to one count of owning or training an animal for fighting, according to the newspaper.

Attending or organizing a cockfight, or training an animal to participate in one, are all misdemeanors under California law, although a second offense is a felony.

(Thanks TOM BOLTON-Eurand; and THERESA SHORT/Ohio Health!)

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Feb 7, 2011 | 5:19 pm ET - By Jamal Thalji/St. Petersburg Times

Palm Harbor, FL - A 35-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after ingesting prescription painkillers, falling asleep and then allowing a 7-year-old boy in her care to wander outside unsupervised, deputies said.  The unidentified child was placed in state care after neighbors said they saw the child huffing paint about 3:20 p.m. in an undisclosed area of Palm Harbor, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Deborah Lee Pavlat was arrested on a charge of child neglect.

Pavlat has a broken leg and is listed as disabled in a sheriff's arrest report. She took several Percocets, a prescribed narcotic painkiller, the report said, then went to bed.  But she made no arrangements for someone else to watch the child, authorities said. Her relationship with the child was not disclosed by deputies, except that she was his caretaker at the time.

A neighbor reported seeing the child walking with a "cloud of smoke around his head," according to the report, while huffing from a can of spray paint.

The child said he had never tried huffing before but said it "smelled good," the report said. The neighbor pounded on Pavlat's door but no one answered. Pavlat was being held in the Pinellas County jail Monday in lieu of $20,000 bail.

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Orlando teen playing with gun shoots self in groin

Feb 7, 2011 | 5:27 pm ET - Henry Pierson Curtis - Orlando Sentinel

An Orlando teen begged police to call an ambulance late Saturday after shooting himself in the testicles, according to police reports.  "I shot myself by accident," the 17-year-old boy said. "Get an ambulance."

The unidentified teenager was lying on his bed, watching TV and playing with a 9 mm. pistol about 8:30 p.m. when it fired. His 12-year-old sister summoned help by calling 911, the report stated.  "I was trying to tie the gun around my leg," he said, describing the accidental discharge to officers.  The bullet went through the scrotum and lodged in his right upper thigh, the report stated.

A Smith and Wesson pistol was found on the floor of the teen's bedroom in his family's home in the Peppertree Apartments on Mercy Drive. Five unfired cartridges were found in the weapon's magazine, the report stated.

Police are trying to determine where the teen obtained the pistol.

The police department is recommending that the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office charge the victim with unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor and unlawful discharge of a firearm, the report stated. State law prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing a loaded gun unless participating in legal hunting or shooting activity supervised by an adult.

Orlando firefighters took the teen by ambulance to Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, the report stated. The teen's aunt responded to the hospital but police were unable to locate his mother that night, the report stated. 

Feb 7, 2011 | 2:51 pm ET

Vero Beach, FL - Some people just don't know when to shut their trap, and the police can't do much about it.

A Vero Beach woman learned that lesson the hard way when she was arrested last Monday for calling 911 three times to report that her male companion "wouldn't shut up."

Anita Lewis apparently had enough of the man as an argument turned from name calling to annoying and eventually landed Lewis in jail.

Police in Indian River County reported that Lewis first called 911 to complain that the man would not stop talking. They claim she called back later to report that the man was still talking and would not shut up.

A police officer visited the talkative couple and warned them both to act more civil for the evening.

They apparently did not take his advice and Lewis called 911 a half-hour later to complain that the man was calling her names. Police returned to the house and arrested Lewis for misuse of the 911 system.

Maybe she got some peace and quiet in jail.

Police say Lewis' friend was drinking beer and listening to music. He told police he did not know why they were called.

(Thanks GREG LARGE-ERA Real Estate/Columbus!)

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Feb. 7, 2011 | 10:38 am

Lakeview, AR - Chief of Police David Manley said Saturday that three men were each charged with three felonies in connection with a commercial burglary at Lakeview in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Arrested later Saturday and charged with commercial burglary, theft of property, and felony criminal mischief, Manley said, were Skyler A. Evans, 24, Coty D. Faulkenberry, 21, and Kyle A. Seimetz, 22, all of Lakeview. They were jailed at the Baxter County Detention Center on $25,000 bond each. Both Faulkenberry and Seimetz were released Saturday. Evans remained in jail Sunday.

Manley said an alarm at the Lakeview business was activated about 4 a.m., and Baxter County Sgt. Mike Holland and Deputy Rocky Morrell responded to find the business' front door glass broken out. Manley was notified and responded as did Brad Hurst, a criminal investigator with the county sheriff's office.

After the initial investigation was completed at the business, officers began following tracks in the freshly fallen snow, which eventually led to the front door of the residence of one of the suspects, Manley said. Property taken from the business was recovered at the residence, according to Manley. Assisting were Arkansas State Parks Rangers Tracy King and Denver West, Manley said.
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Feb 7, 2011 8:14 AM

CHICAGO (WBBM) – When a Ukrainian Village neighborhood man’s snow shovel went missing, all he had to do to find out where it went was to pull up the video.

The security video is now posted on YouTube, and on The Woodman Blog:

http://wcol.com/pages/pp_woodyjohnson.html

In the video, a woman with a small dog walks through a gate.  The dog leads the way up the front steps. The woman follows, and takes the shovel.  You see her digging out her car.  The next thing you see is the homeowner/former shovel owner with a snow-blower, burying the woman’s car.

The woman is then seen walking by with her dog again the next day, and she returns, armed only with a brush to clean off the car. There is no shovel in sight.

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ND team exposed to raccoon pulled from tournament

Feb 6, 2011 | 3:03 pm (ET)
Grand Forks, ND - A raccoon has ended a North Dakota team's bid for a fourth consecutive regional championship in high school wrestling.

The Carrington High School team was pulled from Saturday's tournament when officials discovered the athletes had been exposed to a live raccoon.

Grafton Police Sgt. Anthony Dumas says the team picked up what members thought was a dead raccoon on the way to the tournament in Grafton and stowed in the storage area of their bus. Dumas says when the compartment was opened later, the raccoon "just trotted away."

The animal didn't scratch or bite anyone, but it's not known whether it had rabies.

The Grand Forks Herald reports school officials brought the team home as a precaution. Health officials say there's no risk to athletes who competed against Carrington.

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Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com

(Thanks KEN HORTON/Gahanna!)

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Feb 6, 2011 | 10:22 am EST

Toledo, OH - Toledo police say a 29-year-old man tried to shoot at officers during a vehicle stop but instead shot the driver of the car he was riding in.

The Blade reports the driver, Raishaun Williams, was transported to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition Saturday evening.  Police arrested the passenger, Norman Conner, on suspicion of felonious assault.

Police say Conner struggled with officers over a gun he was concealing. They say he then tried to shoot the officers, but instead shot Williams.

(Thanks KIM CLEMENTS!)

POLICE: Contractor charged homeowner $107,000 for $10 seawall patch job

February 5, 2011 | 6:12 pm ET

PALM CITY, Fla. -- Police have arrested a 51-year-old Indiantown man on charges of ripping off an 82-year-old woman to the tune of $490,000, and using his own family to drop the woman's defenses.

Detectives with the Martin County Sheriff's Office arrested Harry B. Patterson of 7590 Tommy Clements Lane in Indiantown after an investigation revealed that between December 2007 and June 2009, Patterson was hired to perform work at the victim's home in Palm City, but ended up doing very little or none of the work, much of it having to be redone because it was deemed hazardous. Police say Patterson also billed the victim several times for the same invoices.

The victim told police that Patterson repeatedly came to her home suggesting work that her home needed done, and since she wasn't knowledgeable and he seemed to know what he was talking about, she trusted him to do the work and that it was needed. The victim said Patterson regularly brought over his wife and daughter to visit her and that she enjoyed the company and it made her feel more trusting of Patterson.

Investigators determined in one project to repair a seawall, replace insulation and remove mold, Patterson charged the victim more than $107,000 for $10 worth of cement patch and hour's work.

Patterson was charged with grand theft from a victim over the age of 65, which is a first-degree felony. If convicted, Patterson faces a possible 30 years in prison. Patterson was booked at the Martin County Jail and released on Thursday after posting $150,000 bond.

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Feb 4, 2011 |  WEWS-TV- Bob Jones

Alliance, OH - A private snow plow driver in Stark County decided to take a break from battling icy and snow-covered parking lots and instead turned into a crime fighter.

John Shuman followed a suspected purse snatcher for 21 miles and gave 911 dispatchers a license plate and a description of the car.  Strangely, the suspect, 18-year-old Cody Bragg, also called 911, concerned about the snow plow on his tail.

"There's a guy in a snow plow and he's following me and he's scaring me," Bragg told an Alliance 911 operator. (Alliance police posted the 911 call on their website: http://on.fb.me/hv4thI )

The incident began at the Alliance Walmart store at 2700 W. State Street.  Jennifer Kisner was loading groceries into her car, when a car pulled slowly pulled alongside of her and grabbed her purse from a shopping cart.  Kisner chased after the car and tried to get her purse back.

"I reached inside the car and grabbed a hold of his neck and he proceeded to drag me about 60 feet," Kisner told NewsChannel 5.  Shuman saw the whole crime go down and began chasing the suspect, who was driving a Honda Civic.

"I was raised a good, old boy. I was raised to, you work hard for stuff, (I'm) not gonna let someone just take it from you," Shuman said.  Shuman said he was not surprised that Bragg was nervous as his pickup, with an 8-foot wide plow, got closer. Shuman, who has a concealed carry permit, said he was prepared to confront the purse snatcher, but a dispatcher advised him to avoid a confrontation.

Police arrested Bragg a few hours later at a home on Greenbower Street and he confessed to robbery, officers said.  The fact that Bragg called 911 is now amusing to both the victim and the good samaritan.

"Definitely dumbest criminal, for sure," Shuman said.  "It's hard to believe people are really that ignorant," Kisner said.  Bragg is being held in the Stark County Jail on $50,000 bond, charged with robbery and theft.

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Feb 4 2011 | 11:22 pm ET - By Kara Dominick

Boston, MA - A Boston area woman who lost her 3-foot-long boa constrictor in a Boston subway car a month ago has been reunited with her beloved pet.  A commuter spotted Penelope the snake Thursday and alerted a train attendant.

Penelope's owner, 30-year-old Melissa Moorhouse, had traveled around with the snake around her neck and lost it between two stations. Moorehouse says she'll pay more attention the next time she takes Penelope out in public. "I think she's starting to get into her snake teenage years and getting a little bit more adventurous than she used to be."

Moorhead knew Penelope could last on the train for awhile, her breed can go months without eating, but it needs heat.

Thankfully for Penelope, the MBTA keeps their trains warm at night.

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Man arrested after asking cops about growing pot

Feb 4, 2011 | 2:40 pm ET

Farmington, CT - Police say a Connecticut man called 911 to ask a dispatcher how much trouble he could get into by growing one marijuana plant, then was arrested.

Farmington police say a dispatcher told 21-year-old Robert Michelson on Thursday night that he could get arrested for growing pot, and Michelson said thank you and hung up.  Officers went to Michelson's house and seized a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Michelson has admitted he bought seeds and equipment for growing.

Michelson was released on $5,000 bail after being charged with marijuana possession and other crimes. A woman who answered the phone at his home Friday said he wasn't available for comment.

(Thanks PAT HARDY/Baltimore; and  PAM T.!)

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Feb 3, 2011 | 12:10 am MT - Independent Record helenair.com - by Angela Brandt

Helena, MT - An East Helena man arrested for driving under the influence early Wednesday morning tested with a blood-alcohol level of 0.436 percent — more than five times the legal limit and an amount that could cause death in some individuals.

Justice of the Peace Mike Swingley, a former Montana Highway Patrol trooper of 22 years, said this was the highest he has ever seen. The highest blood-alcohol level he had previously seen was a 0.409, he said.

“Usually by the time that happens the person is unconscious,” Swingley added.

Trooper Ben Havron arrested Philip A. Pietz for first offense DUI after finding the 38-year-old man’s truck high centered on a large rock in the entrance to a driveway on the 3600 block of Wildfire Road, according to Justice Court documents.

Havron said prior to getting stuck on the rock, Pietz had driven through several yards in the area, striking a tree and smashing through a few fences. An investigation into the incident continues.

“It was actually surprising how coherent he was. He was walking and talking,” Havron said. “I knew he was impaired. He was obviously impaired. The way he was acting I would have thought he was about 0.15.”

According to Havron, Pietz would not say how much he drank, only that it was “a lot.”

Pietz was transported to St. Peter’s Hospital where the initial breath test was conducted. About four hours after Pietz was assessed by medical personnel and deemed fit to be incarcerated, he was taken to Lewis and Clark County Detention Center, where another breath test resulted in a blood-alcohol level of 0.371 percent, court documents state.

According to Lewis and Clark County Coroner Mickey Nelson, there is no steadfast level on when alcohol ingestion becomes life-threatening.

“We start working about potential death at about 0.30,” he said.

The jail’s policy states that if anyone arrested for a DUI has a blood-alcohol level of 0.30 percent or higher, the person is taken by the arresting officer to the hospital emergency room for evaluation. The doctor will tell the officer when the person is stable enough to be incarcerated, according to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton.

This happens “infrequently,” Dutton said.

During an appearance in Justice Court Wednesday afternoon on the misdemeanor charge of DUI, Pietz tried to plea guilty. Swingley decided Pietz possibly remained under the influence and opted to have him enter a not guilty plea and appear again at a later time.

Pietz was released after posting $500 bond.

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Police: Pa. man robs bank a day after jail release

Feb 3, 2011 | 7:38 pm ET

Johnstown, PA -  Police say a western Pennsylvania man stole a Jeep and robbed a bank a day after a judge let him out of jail where he had been awaiting trial on charges of assaulting his girlfriend.

Upper Yoder police say 29-year-old Richard Brandon Johnson robbed the First Commonwealth Bank in Bens Creek shortly after it opened Wednesday. He was arrested two hours later and also charged with stealing the Jeep, in which police say they found clothes that Johnson wore during the robbery.

Johnson was sent to the Cambria County Prison because he was unable to post $500,000 bond after his arraignment Wednesday.

The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reports that Johnson refused to answer questions from reporters but said "hi, Mom" as police led him to court.

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Information from: The Tribune-Democrat, http://www.tribune-democrat.com

(Thanks KEN HORTON/Gahanna!)