weird crimes

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Stories 1961 - 1980 | << Prev   Next >>

Cops: Man Holds Self for Ransom, Unsuccessfully

He's arrested after mom doesn't buy it

(Newser) - Maybe the only thing worse than faking your own kidnapping and calling your mom for a ransom is discovering that your mom won't pay. Police in Knox County, Tennessee, say 25-year-old Zachery Lodgson texted his mom to say that drug dealers were going to kill him if she didn'...

Tourist's Buddha Tattoo Gets Her Arrested

Sri Lanka will deport her over 'disrespectful' tattoo

(Newser) - A British woman learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to visit Sri Lanka if you have a visible Buddha tattoo. Tourist Naomi Michelle Coleman, 37, was arrested after arriving from India at Sri Lanka's main international airport yesterday; she was taken before a judge,...

Pittsburgh Man's Weapon of Choice: Easter Eggs

Decorating party goes quite awry

(Newser) - One minute you're decorating Easter eggs; the next, you're being pelted with the eggs as your boyfriend goes on a rampage ... and that's not even the craziest part of this story. Pittsburgh police say Aaron Goempel, 27, started throwing the hard-boiled eggs at the female victim after...

How a NYC Cabbie Evaded $28K in Tolls

Police say he was a skilled tailgater

(Newser) - How would a cabbie manage to cross the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in New York City more than 3,000 times without paying a dime in tolls? Pretty easily, it turns out. Police say Rodolfo Sanchez figured out that if he tailgated the law-abiding, toll-paying car ahead of him closely...

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week
 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week 
Apr 18, 2014 8:18 AM CDT

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

Including one that provides a valuable lesson for drug smugglers

(Newser) - A good deed with unintended consequences and a suspect who put in a little too much effort to get to court make the list:
  • Clerk's Good Deed Ends in Cop Chase, Bust : When her cellmate asks, "How'd you get arrested?" Florida's Christina Hines, 30, has good
...

Guy Fails to Pay for 89-Cent Refill, Gets Fined $525

Christopher Lewis hit with federal charges, though VA later backs down

(Newser) - When a construction worker refilled his drink at the VA Medical Center in downtown Charleston, SC, yesterday, he had no idea it was going to lead to federal charges and a fine of $525. Christopher Lewis was on his lunch hour when he went back for more soda without paying...

Clerk's Good Deed Ends in Cop Chase, Heroin Bust

Driver didn't realize she was being pursued for a good reason

(Newser) - When her cellmate asks, "How'd you get arrested?" Florida's Christina Hines, 30, has good reason to either laugh or cry. As WKMG reports, it all started when she accidentally left a $50 bill behind at a gas station. The clerk ran outside after her but was too...

Cops: Guy Steals Car ... to Get to Court

Authorities aren't sympathetic

(Newser) - On the bright side, James Manning made it to court on time for his hearing on a drug-possession charge. The problem is that police say he stole a car from a neighboring California county to do so, reports the Modesto Bee . The 49-year-old's trouble got rolling when a dealership...

Suspect's Giveaway: He Was 'Walking Awkwardly'

Police say they found heroin in man's underwear at JFK Airport

(Newser) - Pro tip: If you're going to smuggle heroin in your underwear, try to walk like a normal person while doing so. Bernard Charles apparently couldn't manage that, so when Customs and Border Protection officers spotted him "walking awkwardly" at New York's JFK Airport on April 1,...

Guy Gets 18 Months for Peeing on the Alamo

Daniel Athens must also pay $4K in restitution

(Newser) - Daniel Athens is probably going to forever remember his decision to urinate on the Alamo back in April 2012. The El Paso resident has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for peeing on the San Antonio landmark during a visit to the city, KPRC reports. He'll also have...

Man Jailed 11 Years Late, Thanks to 'Clerical Error'

Mike Anderson was supposed to go to prison in 2002

(Newser) - Cornealious "Mike" Anderson was supposed to go to prison in 2002—but due to, he says, a "clerical error," the Missouri man just started serving his 13-year prison sentence nine months ago. Anderson was convicted in a 1999 armed robbery, and was supposed to go to prison...

Cops Catch Burglars Who Robbed Snarky Widow

Naomi Richmond was robbed while following her dying husband's ambulance

(Newser) - Imagine the worst day of your life. Now compare it to the night Naomi Richmond had in February, when her husband died and her house was burglarized while she followed his ambulance to the hospital. Richmond's case drew local media attention in part because of the snarky-yet-heartbreaking "thank...

Man Jailed for 6 Months Over Loud Sex

12 neighbors complained about the Italian man's romps with his girlfriend

(Newser) - There's a noisy romp between the sheets and then there's sex so loud it's considered "stalking" your neighbors. That was the charge an Italian man apparently faced in court, after a dozen of his neighbors filed a civil suit complaining of his loud lovemaking sessions. They...

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week
 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week 
Apr 11, 2014 8:32 AM CDT

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

Including Smart-car tippers in San Francisco

(Newser) - Two unusual customer-service issues made their way onto the crime blotter this week:
  • What Not to Do When Angry With Pot Dealer : A woman in East Texas felt that her marijuana dealer sold her low-quality pot, so she decided to call the police and file a complaint. The responding officers
...

Teen's Idea to Fund Prom Dress: Sell Pot Brownies

Saira Munoz now faces deportation

(Newser) - Saira Munoz needed to make enough money to buy a prom dress. What to do? The then-18-year-old high school student chose quite possibly the worst course of action: She baked pot brownies, then hired another student to sell them at her high school in Yuba City, California. When one of...

Cops: Laptop Thief Busted After Customer Service Call

Suspect phoned Apple for help months after burglary

(Newser) - Calling customer service for help with your laptop is generally a fine idea, but maybe not if you stole the thing in a home burglary. Police in New Hampshire say they made an arrest on Monday and recovered a computer stolen in February 2013 thanks to that very scenario, reports...

Cops: 9-Year-Old Steals Car to Skip School

He goes on the lam for 45 minutes before pulling over

(Newser) - A 9-year-old boy in Florida wanted to skip school so badly that he stole his mother's car, police say. The unidentified kid managed to drive around for about 45 minutes before pulling over for police, reports the Miami Herald . "He could barely see over the steering wheel,"...

What Not to Do When Angry About Pot Dealer

Woman arrested after calling police to complain about quality

(Newser) - Two strange marijuana-related arrests from the police blotter:
  • Bad strategy: A woman in East Texas got herself arrested after she called police to complain that a dealer had sold her low-quality marijuana, reports the AP . Evelyn Hamilton spent $40 on the pot and says she called the cops when the
...

Baby in Hiding After Attempted Murder Charge

Pakistani 9-month-old has April 12 court appearance

(Newser) - A new twist in the case of the 9-month-old Pakistani baby who has been charged with attempted murder . The infant's grandfather today tells Reuters that the child has gone into hiding, though he revealed the boy's general location: the city of Faisalabad. Why Muhammad Mosa Khan was charged...

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week
 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week 
Apr 4, 2014 9:26 AM CDT

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

A thwarted thief and a mother-son duo who were really into chainsaws

(Newser) - Among this week's crop of ill-advised criminals: A burglar who got stuck on the way to his would-be loot and a trio of alleged drunk drivers caught behind the wheel ... of the same car:
  • Cops: Arby's Burglar Gets Stuck : It probably seemed like the perfect plan on paper:
...

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