Ryan Brinkerhoff has a curious way to dealing with being stuck in an elevator. When he found himself unable to get out of the 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center, he decided the best course of action was to spray the interior of the elevator with cleaning fluid and lighting it on fire. The automatic system then forced the elevator to the bottom floor where he was promptly arrested.
Continue reading “Drunken Commodities Broker Attempts to Set WTC Elevator on Fire in Escape Effort”
Category: Criminal law
Norman Hutchinson, 48, is a member of the Religion of Jesus Church who lives in Mexico, Maine. He has filed a lawsuit in the Oxford Courthouse in Paris Maine against the state, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mexico Police Department to protect his right to use marijuana for religious reasons.
Continue reading “Mexico Man in Paris Sues State of Maine in Oxford Court Over Religious Use of Pot”
The Vanguard, one of Nigeria’s largest newspaper, has a different take on the conventional crime beat. The newspaper reported how a thief in Kwara state was chased and cornered by vigilantes and promptly turned himself into a goat.
Continue reading “The Goat Did It: Nigerian Newspaper Reports That Cornered Car Thief Turned Himself Into Goat”
Anthony Hernandez has sued the Chicago police department after officers arrested him without probable cause on drug charges and then held him for six months in jail. Not only did Hernandez lose his jobs, but he missed the birth of a child. It also turns out that one of the arresting officers, Slawomir Plewa, was stripped of his police powers in 2008 for his involvement in a false arrest.
Continue reading “Chicago Man Sues After Being Held Six Months on False Drug Charges”
The librarians in Independence, Iowa don’t take kindly to people holding on to their books. Shelly Koontz, 39, probably feels like she has become a character out of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment after police arrested her for failing to return a book that she checked out in April. The book value is $13.95.
Continue reading “Booked: Iowa Woman Arrested Over Failure to Return Library Book”
South Carolina state senator Robert Ford is seeking to criminalize bad language in songs and droopy pants. The former civil rights worker believes that he has the right to dictate the speech and styles of citizens — dismissing any claims of constitutional rights. Indeed, he has proudly proclaimed that “[w]e’re talking about teenagers. They have no rights.”
Continue reading “State Legislator Seeks to Criminalize Bad Language and Droopy Pants”
Police in Staunton, Virginia are dealing with a deathbed confession that may have solved a 42-year-old double murder. Sharron Diane Crawford Smith, 60, confessed to the murder of Constance Smootz Hevener, 19, and Carolyn Hevener Perry, 20 (who was also Hevener’s sister-in-law) at High’s Ice Cream store on 1967. She said that she shot the woman after she teased her about being a lesbian and got into a physical altercation.
Continue reading “Dying Virginia Woman Confesses to Double Murder 42 Years Ago in Ice Cream Shop”
The international trend toward criminalizing any insulting of religion has reached Austria, which has now convicted far-right legislator Susanne Winter for making anti-Muslim statements, including the oft-stated charge that Mohammed was a pedophile for marrying an underaged girl. Winter is an obvious wingnut and her statements obnoxious. However, the first amendment is being sharply curtailed by a movement to criminalize insults to religion, including a United Nations resolution.
Continue reading “Winter of Discontent: Far-Right Politician Convicted of “Humiliating a Religion””
Correctional Officers Michael McKie, Khalid Nelson and Denise Albright have been arrested on charges that they organized a fight club of inmates called “The Program.” Using teen enforcers called “The Team,” they allegedly oversaw a system of beatings, extortion, and terror at Rikers prison in New York. They even allegedly held classes on how to beat prisoners to leave as few marks as possible.
Continue reading “Rikers’ Fight Club: Three Officers Arrested for Allegedly Organizing System of Beatings and Extortion”
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division (CID) has finally changed the status of the investigation of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated, 24-year-old Green Beret, from “accidental” to “negligent homicide.” Maseth was killed in an act of unbelievable negligence and carelessness by KBR in a shower where he was electrocuted. After months of controversy and criticism, the Army finally acknowledges that the company “failed to ensure that work was being done by qualified electricians and plumbers, and to inspect the work that was being conducted.”
Continue reading “Death of Sgt. Maseth in KBR Shower Incident Re-Classified From “Accidental” to “Negligent Homicide””
Chicago Police officer William Cozzi has admitted that he “lost it” when he attacked 60-year-old Randle Miles, 62, who was handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair at the time. The attack with his baton is shown on the video below. He pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation.
Continue reading “Chicago Police Officer Pleads Guilty of Beating 60-Year-Old Man Handcuffed and Shackled to Wheelchair”
We may be losing markets to foreign countries but we still have a superior level of criminal. A teenager from Achim was caught shoplifting and an officer demanded his address. The teen made up an address. The only problem was that not only did the teen not live there but the officer did.
Continue reading “D’oh! Thief Arrested After Giving Officer False Address — The Officer’s Address”
Two Roman Catholic priests — Fr. John Skehan, 81, and Fr. Francis Guinan, 66, have been accused of an astonishing criminal enterprise — stealing between $800,000 and $2 million from Church funds at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, in West Palm Beach. Shekan has withdrawn his not guilty plea and admitted the theft (tough insists that it was no more than $100,000) while Guinan continues to maintain his innocence. They allegedly stole the money to use on holidays and gambling.
Continue reading “Collared: Catholic Priests Arrested for Stealing As Much As $2 Million From Church Donations”
A Providence, Rhode Island man is in trouble after he abandoned nearly 300 rats on the side of the road. Toby Duffany, 22, was arrested for stuffing 280 rats into aquariums and cages on the side of a road. The rats were forced to turn to cannibalism and 75 rates died. Yet, Duffany has only some community service and $1000 to pay for his cruel treatment of the animals.
President Barack Obama issued four executive orders Thursday, including one requiring that the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year. It was a widely anticipated move. The question remains, however, what to do about the war crimes committed at the facility. In the meantime, the Republicans are demanding that Holder promise not to investigate war crimes as a condition for their votes for confirmation.
Continue reading “Obama Moves to Close Gitmo Prison While Republicans Move To Delay Holder Nomination”