Ruth Wagner, 55, may have committed the ultimate Christmas crime — combining holiday themes with criminal intent. Wagner is accused of stealing various items from a Christmas Craft Fair and, when discovered, using a seashell ornament to stab another woman. The case raises an interesting question: is a seashell Christmas ornament a dangerous weapon?
Category: Bizarre
Valery Vawn Wright, 49, of Two Harbors is shown on a website posing with her prize 199 pound buck. The photo may now be part of a criminal case against her for allegedly baiting deer and hunting without a license.
Three people in Florida have pleaded guilty to scamming customers of their septic tank company, FBK Products, into buying unnecessary products, including in some cases enough toilet paper to last more than 70 years. They are charged with lying to customers by telling them that federal regulations required special toilet paper.
Continue reading “Three South Florida Septic Tank Employees Plead Guilty To Fraud”
A lawsuit has been filed against Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr that alleges a shocking mistreatment of a deaf prisoner, Timothy Siaki, who was held in jail for 25 days due to a lack of an interpreter. Siaki is deaf.
Continue reading “Colorado Sheriff Sued After Holding Deaf Man For 25 Days Due To Lack of Interpreter After Unfounded Arrest”
This video shows Yves Rossy testing his jet pack by flying with a couple of military jets. The result is spellbinding in the Alps.
Continue reading “Meet Yves Rossy: Rocket Man”
If there is one rule for the corrupt public officer it is this: cash only. Parking Enforcement Aide Jamila Judkins is accused of violating that rule when she allegedly demanded that a man write her a personal check when he explained that he did not have cash to pay her rate of $20 for ignoring a parking violation.
Continue reading “Corruption 101: How Not To Accept A Bribe”
I just saw this video on YouTube and had to share it. Scientists decided to pump a special concrete into an ant colony to create a hard structure of the “ant city.” The result is astonishing.
Continue reading “Welcome To Ant City”
Grant Smith, 47, of Utah is the subject of a rare case of child pornography involving witnesses. Usually child porn cases arise from searches of personal or work computers. Smith, however, allegedly decided to review his cache of child porn on a flight from Utah to Boston. Another passenger in First Class reported him to flight attendants who called in the police. [Update: Smith is a professor at the University of Utah and has pleaded not guilty].
Florida Judge Donna Miller is delighted by the results of a novel sentence that she handed down to a 345-pound man jailed for driving with a suspended license. Miller told George McCovery, 37, that she would reduce his time by a pound a day for weight loss. He lost 25 pounds in 20 days and received early release. Miller is one of the judges who has merged justice with the entertainment industry — replaying proceedings on the television show “Lake Courts.” I have previously written about the dangers of such “novel” sentencing in judges using their courtrooms for entertainment or self-aggrandizement. While some judges have been sanctioned for crossing the line in merging judicial with their entertainment careers, Miller appears to be flourishing in the practice.
Continue reading “Florida Judge Combines Criminal Sentencing With Weight Loss Offer”
Many of us grew up watching Monty Hall on Let’s Make a Deal. It turns out that the show presents something of a mathematical conundrum: does switching your choice at the last minute between the two remaining rooms increase your chances of success? The video below presents the answer and it may surprise you.
It appears that British medical schools are facing a growing problem of Muslim medical students and doctors walking out of courses in protest when evolution is taught as part of biology. The students and teachers believe that Darwin’s theories conflict with the Koran, as do many Christians (and apparently most — but not all — GOP presidential contenders) believe in the United States. The view is a bit more unsettling when future doctors refuse to even hear about evolution as a blasphemous subject.
Continue reading “British Medical Schools Facing Backlash Over Evolution From Muslim Students”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
America’s newest national holy day is upon us — Black Friday. It seems we’re all co-opted into getting multinational retailers like Wal-Mart out of the red and into the black just in time for Christmas bonuses to their execs. Quite the achievement. The blog has chronicled the holiday spirit on display with one pepper spray assault by an exuberant shopper getting the best bargain available. All this despite the New York Times telling us that our friendly, apron-clad senior citizen’s employer might be holding back on the deals.
Continue reading “A Black Friday For A Nation of Spectators”
They don’t call it Black Friday for nothing. A woman in a Los Angeles Walmart hit the store at 10:20 pm to grab the holiday deals only to find other customers rushing toward the items that she wanted. Police say that, as the coverings on the items were removed, she pepper sprayed the other customers. Twenty people were injured.
Continue reading “California Woman Pepper Sprays Other Customers To Get “Upper Hand” in Black Friday Deal”
I previously wrote a column about the ongoing controversy over statutory rape prosecutions, the subject of prior blogs. Now, Grant County District Attorney Lisa Riniker appears intent on outdoing other prosecutors by charging a 6-year-old boy with first-degree sexual assault for what the family says was playing doctor with a 5-year-old girl.
George Hinnenkamp, 89, can be forgiven for being as “surprised as hell” in being sued recently by two passengers involved in an accident in his car. First, he was not driving the car at the time. Second, the driver was the man who stole his car.
Continue reading “Oregon Man Sued After Thief Steals His Car and Crashes Weeks Later”