In Wisconsin, an apparently drunken man helped himself to a cup of soda in a retail store but refused to pay the $1.57 bill. Employees told the 27-year-old that he must either pay for the drink or leave, but he refused to do either.

Police were called and an officer gave the man the choice of paying his bill or going to jail. Despite later being found to have over $70 in his pocket, the drunk chose to go to jail.

He was issued an ordinance citation for retail theft.

Well, there's nowt so queer as folk.

Leader Telegram

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:39 AM | Permalink

On December 19, concerned by his apparent disappearance, Stanley Carter's friends filed a missing person report on him. On Friday, 26th December, the long-lost Carter emerged from the attic of a neighbor's home - wearing the neighbor's clothes.

Carter's unwitting host, Stacy Ferrance, had heard noises but thought they were caused by the three children. She notified police on Christmas Day when cash, a laptop computer and an iPod disappeared, then called police again the next day when she found footprints in her bedroom closet, beneath the trap-door to the attic.

Carter kept a log of everything he took from the residence, which he labeled 'Stanley's Christmas List.'

He was charged with several counts of burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal trespass after accessing the attic shared by the Ferrance family and their neighbors - the very folk who had reported Carter missing in the first place.

Chron.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:26 AM | Permalink

Shane Sartin broke out of Webster County Jail last week by using a string of Christmas lights to climb down from a third-story exercise area in the county courthouse. Of course, the majority of Christmas lights are designed to be hung by people and not hung on to by people and, as you would suspect, they broke.

Sartin took this personal tragedy, and the injured back that ensued, lightly and still managed to get away, changing from his orange prison jumpsuit to sweats and T-shirt. Nonetheless, he was picked up by officers less than 24 hours after his escape and taken to hospital to have his back injury assessed.

KansasCity.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 07:05 AM | Permalink

A hitchhiker has been arrested for throwing snowballs at passing cars because they wouldn't give him a lift.

Zack Laughlin Kelly was hitchhiking home for the festive season when Oregon police gave him a ride. They could only take him for the first part of his journey, following which Kelly had to rely, rather unsuccessfully, on his thumb. Frustrated at the lack of motorist goodwill (an abundance of motorist good sense, depending on which side of the fence you sit), Kelly decided to take attack the task of getting a ride rather more forcibly.

Police saw him walking in the fast lane of a motorway, snowballs in both hands, jumping toward vehicles to try to make them stop. He was also spotted walking in the center of the fast lane, throwing snowballs at vehicles passing him in the slow lane.

It appeared that, although Kelly had partaken of a festive tipple or two, he was still lucid. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Metro

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:51 AM | Permalink

An Australian businessman pleaded not guilty to possessing more than 70 ecstasy tablets, telling Darwin Magistrates Court he had hoped they would prevent his shar-pei dogs from breeding.

Dog owner, Stephen James Dwyer, told the court the ecstasy tablets had come into his hands when he met the owner of a female shar-pei outside a laundromat. In conversation, the owner of the bitch told Dwyer that he had doggy birth control pills that he no longer needed because his bitch had been neutered.

Dwyer said he knew his dog was about to come on heat and he thought the pills would be "very handy for her." He claimed that no money had changed hands.

Magistrate Vince Luppino said he did not find the excuse for having a traffickable amount of ecstasy "reasonable" and handed down a suspended jail sentence of two months.

Sunday Territorian

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:06 AM | Permalink

Shaniqua Tompkins, ex-paramour of 50 Cent, has filed a $50 million breach of contract suit. However 50 has responded by saying that anything he might have said to Tompkins was "nothing more than pillow talk and romantic declarations of love."

As if that wasn't a low enough blow, 50 went onto say, "If I ever intended to make that kind of commitment to her, I would have married her."

TMZ

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 05:44 AM | Permalink

Three Ohio women were busted this week after a botched robbery attempt at the Dollar Tree Store in Bedford Heights.

When cops searched the ladies' getaway car they discovered downloaded instructions from the internet, entitled "How To Commit Armed Robbery In Six Easy Steps."

The seized instructions were printed Monday morning at 10:16, just 11 hours before the women sought to hold up the aforementioned store.

Should you want to get busted in one easy step, click here.

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:27 AM | Permalink

... is the title of an old Paul Anka recordingand one wonders if that refrain was echoed by his wife, Anna, in November when she split the veteran crooners head open with a piece of ice.

The story goes that Paul and Anna Anka got into an argument that turned physical. In the melee, an ice bucket hit the ground and Mrs Anka picked up a piece of ice and lobbed at her husband.

A trip to the ER for Mr Anka resulted in two staples to close the wound. However, when he returned home Anna was missing so the cops were called. Anka's fast bowling wife eventually returned to the scene of her crime, where she was arrested and booked for felony domestic battery.

A Steel Guitar, A Glass of Wine, and a Lump of Ice (just check his discography).

TMZ

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:17 AM | Permalink

... is the title of an old Paul Anka recording and one wonders if that refrain was echoed by his wife, Anna, in November when she split the veteran crooners head open with a piece of ice.

The story goes that Paul and Anna Anka got into an argument that turned physical. In the melee, an ice bucket hit the ground and Mrs Anka picked up a piece of ice and lobbed at her husband.

A trip to the ER for Mr Anka resulted in two staples to close the wound. However, when he returned home Anna was missing so the cops were called. Anka's fast bowling wife eventually returned to the scene of her crime, where she was arrested and booked for felony domestic battery.

A Steel Guitar, A Glass of Wine, and a Lump of Ice (just check his discography).

TMZ

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:17 AM | Permalink

In Omaha a woman returned home last Saturday to find that a window had been broken and her home trashed. The only things missing, however, were a tuna sandwich and four beers.

WOWT.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 05:59 AM | Permalink

It seems that variations on the following story come up every year; perhaps dumb criminals should think about taking the winter off?

Late on Tuesday, police followed footprints in the snow from the place where a pizza delivery man was robbed, tracing them back to a house on the same block, where they found two pizza boxes, the pizza man's debit card, and a baseball bat.

Police report that two teens waited on a porch for the pizza man and that two others, one of whom was one holding a bat, approached him. When threatened, the pizza man turned over pizzas and sodas, together with $200 in cash.

The four teenagers were arrested.

Chicago Breaking News

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 05:52 AM | Permalink

Brittany Phillips was feeling frisky; her boyfriend, Todd Stewart,wasn't. Stewart pushed Phillips off him, and then, claims the rebuffed woman, he became violent

Stewart, on the other hand, told an investigator that he left the bedroom to sleep on a living room couch, but that his girlfriend "would not leave him alone." At some point, things got physical and Stewart says he was stabbed in the lower lip with "a long metal object which appeared to be a knife."

The frisky Phillips acknowledged that she struck Stewart, but said it was done "to protect herself."

Phillips was charged with aggravated battery, while a bloodied and bowed Stewart was charged with simple battery. His lover was also booked on a pair of outstanding warrants, for simple battery and damage to property. Seems like somebody else must have rebuffed her advances.

The Smoking Gun

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:38 AM | Permalink

the Most Wanted!

Andrew Lynne Palmer, who hosted a local TV show called "West Virgini''s Most Wanted," has just pleaded guilty to breaking into a store and stealing a hand-held GPS unit and a company credit card, which he used to buy $47 worth of gas. Small-fry, eh?

Well:
back in July he was arrested for allegedly stealing a van
in February he was accused of leading police on a high speed chase
in November last year he pleaded guilty to beating a man who refused to buy him drugs
and, in March last year he was ordered to pay his former fiancee $22,000 for conning her into buying him a trailer

Another TV show coming up,do you think, called "Andrew Lynne Palmer - West Virginia's Most Wanted?"

And what sort of a name for a guy is Lynne - over here that's a girls' name.

The Charleston Gazette

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:19 AM | Permalink

A roadside speed camera took six photographs in one day of Robert Jones grinning and waving as he sped past, putting children's lives at risk and openly mocking the speed camera outside the village school in a 30mph zone.

Jones didn't help himself by registering the car in his daughter's name in an attempt to escape prosecution - despite the fact that his daughter is only 13 years old. He also denied being the person pictured in the vehicle for all six offenses but agreed that the woman in the back seat bore a striking resemblance to his ex-wife.

Having been clocked at speeds well in excess of 40mph, Jones was jailed for four months and disqualified from driving for six months.

Telegraph

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:41 AM | Permalink

Brit tough-guy actor Vinnie Jones has had 48 stitches in a facial wound following an altercation with a beer mug and the guy holding it.

Jones told British tabloid newspaper, The Sun, that the attack was unprovoked. However, his assailant, Jesse Bickett, claims he was quietly playing pool in a South Dakota bar Thursday night when a 'visibly drunk' Vinnie stormed in and tried to hijack the table.

The more upmarket broadsheet, The Daily Telegraph, reports that the ruckus broke out after Jones took offense when asked if he was "that guy from X-Men"

According to Bickett's lawyer, Jones' demand that his client leave the table was swiftly followed by a back-hand to the face. Vinnie then tackled Bickett to the ground and threw several head-butts -- so Jesse, in an effort to protect himself, grabbed a beer mug and smashed Vinnie in the face.

Both protagonist and antagonist (choose your own alliance folks) required plastic surgery and both are due before the court at an unspecified date in the future.

The Telegraph

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:26 AM | Permalink

A woman has been arrested after asking a state trooper for permission to smoke - before lighting up a joint.

The very aptly named Honesty Knight was riding as a passenger in a car pulled over by the Trooper for a traffic violation. As the Trooper questioned the driver, Knight obtained his permission to smoke, however, when the suspicious trooper examined the cigarette, it was found to contain marijuana.

Honest Honesty faces a preliminary charge of possession of paraphernalia. She was released from jail on bond.

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:26 AM | Permalink

Amy Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was released from prison last month vowing to stay away from his wife to help her deal with her drug addiction. Now, however, he has allegedly demanded $1.46 million from Amy's manager, threatening to write a kiss-and-tell if the money isn't forthcoming.

So, tell me, who is going to believe a word this not-so-civil and not-very-upright member of the community says. Especially given that he is now said to have failed a mandatory drugs test which will see him sent back to prison at the end of the month.

contactmusic

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:14 AM | Permalink

James Herard stood in the dock, accused of wielding a shotgun in a string of Dunkin' Donuts robberies that covered two counties.

Herard, who was accused of the robberies along with two others, repeatedly barked at County Judge John Hurley.

An exasperated Hurley told the 19-year-old Herard, "I would suggest you take this more seriously." To which Herard's only reply was "ruff" - well, actually, several "ruffs."

Not to be beaten, when Herard again replied "ruff" to the explanation of his rights as a criminal defendant, Judge Hurley said, "I'm going to consider your bark as an acknowledgment of what I just told you."

Herard was remanded to jail without bond and minus telephone privileges. He is obviously barking mad.

South Florida

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:43 AM | Permalink

So, he finally got his come uppance, 9 years in the slammer - at the very least.

OJ is facing a minimum of 9 years and a maximum of 33 years in prison but even if they locked him up and threw away the key, those old murders will still go unsolved and unpunished. However, OJ is not going to be flavor of the month among his prison compatriots. Now that's a nice and rather comforting thought.

TMZ

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:33 AM | Permalink

Dixie Chick Natalie Maines is being sued in Arkansas by Terry Hobbs, whose eight-year-old step-son was murdered along with two other boys back in 1993. Hobbs has never been implicated or charged in the case.

Three men were convicted of the murders but Maines has been loudly expressing her belief that Hobbs was involved. In fact, she wrote a letter on the Dixie Chicks' Web site encouraging donations for legal fees to free the West Memphis Three (the three convicts mentioned above)

Hobbs is now suing all of the band members but the lawsuit focuses mostly on Maines. He claims that he has lost income and reputation and that her claims "so extreme in degree as to be... atrocious and utterly intolerable."

CMT

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:59 AM | Permalink

It was announced on the British news networks about an hour ago that Boy George has been found guilty of chaining a naked male escort to a wall and beating him; he is now awaiting sentencing.

Some of the defense arguments used by BG during the two week trial verged on the ridiculous - he even claimed "I'm too fat and out of shape to beat up someone." The truth is, he's too fat and out of shape to get a partner that doesn't require payment at the end of the 'session.'

As for the man-whore, as previously suggested, he probably wouldn't have complained if his client had been a nobody. Okay, so BG is a nobody now, but he is also a 'has been,' in fact, the BBC describe him as 'a lonely, paranoid man struggling to find his place in the world.'

That old song of his 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' has a whole new ring to it now.

I'll await the sentence with interest.

BBC

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:50 AM | Permalink

AP is reporting that Roman Polanski's lawyers have filed a request to dismiss a 30 year old charge against him for having sex with an underage girl, because of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.

The motion, filed yesterday (Tuesday) alleges that a documentary about the filmmaker released this year revealed "a pattern of misconduct and improper communications" between the LA County district attorney's office and the judge in Polanski's case.

Initially indicted on six felony counts, Polanski faced life imprisonment, which he avoided by pleading guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The other counts were then dismissed.

The 75-year-old film director hasn't returned to the States since the charge was made back in 1978, since which time he has been living in France.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for January 21st, 2009, in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

AP

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:04 AM | Permalink

...of crimes against hair!

Phil Spector's murder retrial is just beginning, and even if the jury don't find him guilty of murder as charged, he is certainly guilty of wearing a bad weave - see the evidence!

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:58 AM | Permalink

This from the felony criminal complaint filed yesterday against football star Plaxico Burress:

The informant observed the defendant holding a drink in his left hand while fidgeting with his right hand in the area of the waistline of his pants as he entered the upper VIP area of the Latin Quarter Club... Informant then heard a 'pop' sound and defendant stated in substance "Take me to a hospital." Informant then observed defendant's legs begin to shake and as the defendant's legs were shaking, informant observed a pistol fall out of the defendant's pant leg onto the floor.

Well, as if that wasn't stupid enough, Burress refused to call the police, choosing to got to a hospital where he used a false name and wasn't entirely honest about the details of the event.

Not only does Burress face imprisonment, he New York State Department of Health has launched an investigation to determine if the hospital that treated Plaxico Burress engaged in a conspiracy to hide information, after reports that hospital workers failed to report the gunshot wound, as required by New York law.

Failing to report a gunshot injury to cops is a class A misdemeanor.

The Smoking Gun
TMZ

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 03:07 AM | Permalink

As mentioned in a previous entry, male escort and model, Audun Carlsen, has accused Boy George of chaining him to a bedroom wall and beating him.

In London yesterday, Boy George confirmed that he had indeed handcuffed the male hooker and had beaten him with a paddle. But, he said, he "certainly wasn't going to kill him."

Maybe he did beat Carlsen a bit harder than he meant to, after all, he suspected the 'hired help' of stealing photos from his laptop. "I was just so angry," said the faded and jaded Boy. "I just wanted to make sure he did not leave my house."

I can't help thinking that 'Boy' and Carlsen would have agreed on what services were to be rendered, and whoring is inherently dangerous anyway, so much so that most hookers would put this down as an occupational hazard. Chances are if Carlsen had been servicing some unknown punter he would just have let the matter drop.

As for BG - he should password protect his computer.

Metro

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 02:49 AM | Permalink