Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Burglary suspect fell into store through ceiling in front of waiting police officer
A man’s plans to break into a Houston store proved to be unsuccessful, after he crashed through the ceiling and landed in front of a police officer.
Police say the man climbed a tree and onto the roof of a Family Dollar store early on Sunday morning, then managed to break a hole in the roof and enter the building.
But after making his way into the store, the man fell through the ceiling just as a police officer arrived in response to a call about a potential burglary.
The officer immediately ordered the suspect to stay on the floor, where he was taken into custody. Police believe the man, who was working on his own, was attempting to break in to steal cigarettes.
Police say the man climbed a tree and onto the roof of a Family Dollar store early on Sunday morning, then managed to break a hole in the roof and enter the building.
But after making his way into the store, the man fell through the ceiling just as a police officer arrived in response to a call about a potential burglary.
The officer immediately ordered the suspect to stay on the floor, where he was taken into custody. Police believe the man, who was working on his own, was attempting to break in to steal cigarettes.
Naked violinist sues over what he claims was unlawful arrest
A man is seeking at least $1.1 million in a lawsuit against the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Portland Police Bureau and others after he claims he was dragged, injured and taunted by police when he was arrested in 2014 during a nude demonstration outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon.
Matthew T. Mglej, 25, of Hillsboro, is alleging unlawful arrest and detention, use of excessive force, malicious prosecution, First Amendment rights violation, cruel and unusual punishment, battery, assault and negligence by authorities in a lawsuit filed in US District Court on Jan. 20.
Portland police said Mglej was the source of several complaints when he was playing a violin and making signs while naked outside the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse last May. He was arrested after being told his nudity violated city code and was carried into a patrol car when he refused to walk on his own, police said. A section of Portland's City Code declares it "unlawful for any person to expose his or her genitalia while in a public place or place visible from a public place, if the public place is open or available to persons of the opposite sex."
Mglej claims he arrived at the courthouse in a "designer suit" with his service dog, Belle, an iPad, violin and other items, and soon stripped off his clothes for a demonstration, according to the lawsuit. Mglej played his violin and wrote messages quoting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as passers-by "took pictures, chanted, cheered and endorsed" the display. Four Portland police officers told Mglej to stop, but he claims he cited a section of the Oregon Constitution and court verdicts on his iPad that he believed made his demonstration legal. The officers left after more than an hour, according to the lawsuit, leading to cheers and gifts from the crowd. Officers came back as Mglej was meditating, arrested him and put his dog in the back of a patrol car.
He was picked up and dropped several times and then dragged on the ground on the way to the patrol car, according to the lawsuit. While at the Multnomah County Detection Center, he claims jail deputies cut his wrists and hands by twisting and jerking on his handcuffs and called him a "cry baby" and hurled other insults at him when he cried from the pain and for his service dog. Mglej claims he was held for around 24 hours in an isolated cell without food, water, medical attention from a doctor or a phone call with a lawyer. Mglej pleaded not guilty to indecent exposure four days after his arrest. He is next scheduled to next appear in Multnomah County Circuit Court for a hearing in that matter on Feb. 17.
Portland police said Mglej was the source of several complaints when he was playing a violin and making signs while naked outside the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse last May. He was arrested after being told his nudity violated city code and was carried into a patrol car when he refused to walk on his own, police said. A section of Portland's City Code declares it "unlawful for any person to expose his or her genitalia while in a public place or place visible from a public place, if the public place is open or available to persons of the opposite sex."
Mglej claims he arrived at the courthouse in a "designer suit" with his service dog, Belle, an iPad, violin and other items, and soon stripped off his clothes for a demonstration, according to the lawsuit. Mglej played his violin and wrote messages quoting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as passers-by "took pictures, chanted, cheered and endorsed" the display. Four Portland police officers told Mglej to stop, but he claims he cited a section of the Oregon Constitution and court verdicts on his iPad that he believed made his demonstration legal. The officers left after more than an hour, according to the lawsuit, leading to cheers and gifts from the crowd. Officers came back as Mglej was meditating, arrested him and put his dog in the back of a patrol car.
He was picked up and dropped several times and then dragged on the ground on the way to the patrol car, according to the lawsuit. While at the Multnomah County Detection Center, he claims jail deputies cut his wrists and hands by twisting and jerking on his handcuffs and called him a "cry baby" and hurled other insults at him when he cried from the pain and for his service dog. Mglej claims he was held for around 24 hours in an isolated cell without food, water, medical attention from a doctor or a phone call with a lawyer. Mglej pleaded not guilty to indecent exposure four days after his arrest. He is next scheduled to next appear in Multnomah County Circuit Court for a hearing in that matter on Feb. 17.
Man says he beat woman with a stick because he loved her
A Florida woman said she was attacked by a man who claimed he hit her because he loved her, Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies said.
The 63-year-old victim said she was inside her apartment at Islamorada early on Sunday morning when a man identified as William Roberts, 66, of Tennessee, knocked on her back door. When she opened the door, she noticed Roberts was wearing only his underwear and a sweater he had taken from her car, which was parked outside.
The woman said she had never seen Roberts before and had no idea who he was. Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said Roberts beat the woman with a stick he had in his hands. When she asked him why he was beating her, he told her it was because he loved her. Herrin said the woman tore his sweater during the struggle.
Roberts then backed away from her and allowed her to run back into her apartment. At that point, she called 911. Roberts was arrested a short distance away from the apartment building. He faces charges of aggravated battery and burglary of a vehicle.
The 63-year-old victim said she was inside her apartment at Islamorada early on Sunday morning when a man identified as William Roberts, 66, of Tennessee, knocked on her back door. When she opened the door, she noticed Roberts was wearing only his underwear and a sweater he had taken from her car, which was parked outside.
The woman said she had never seen Roberts before and had no idea who he was. Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said Roberts beat the woman with a stick he had in his hands. When she asked him why he was beating her, he told her it was because he loved her. Herrin said the woman tore his sweater during the struggle.
Roberts then backed away from her and allowed her to run back into her apartment. At that point, she called 911. Roberts was arrested a short distance away from the apartment building. He faces charges of aggravated battery and burglary of a vehicle.
Bus driver helped catch thieves after victim’s husband clung to bonnet of car during chase
A Chinese bus driver help chase down a couple of thieves with his vehicle after they were caught stealing a passenger’s purse.
The incident that took place in China’s Nantong City in the Jiangsu Province was captured by the city’s traffic surveillance cameras and shows the bus driver and the husband of the victim work together to chase down and eventually apprehend the two thieves.
The driver and husband decided to take action after the thieves were seen sneaking off the bus with the bag of one of the bus’ female passengers. After seeing the two men get into a black car, the victim’s husband gave chase and managed to jump onto the vehicle’s bonnet, clinging onto the car’s wing mirrors as the thieves attempted to flee.
YouTube link.
The bus driver then followed the vehicle with the bus and tried to stop the car by trapping it against the road’s barriers. The thieves' car was eventually cornered by the bus after a short chase and dozens of the bus’ passengers crowded the criminal’s getaway car until police arrived. Police confirmed that the two thieves had been arrested and were being detained at a local police station.
The incident that took place in China’s Nantong City in the Jiangsu Province was captured by the city’s traffic surveillance cameras and shows the bus driver and the husband of the victim work together to chase down and eventually apprehend the two thieves.
The driver and husband decided to take action after the thieves were seen sneaking off the bus with the bag of one of the bus’ female passengers. After seeing the two men get into a black car, the victim’s husband gave chase and managed to jump onto the vehicle’s bonnet, clinging onto the car’s wing mirrors as the thieves attempted to flee.
YouTube link.
The bus driver then followed the vehicle with the bus and tried to stop the car by trapping it against the road’s barriers. The thieves' car was eventually cornered by the bus after a short chase and dozens of the bus’ passengers crowded the criminal’s getaway car until police arrived. Police confirmed that the two thieves had been arrested and were being detained at a local police station.
Road worker's dedication to cone alignment amused onlookers
Proving that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing properly, a road worker in Christchurch, New Zealand, provided hospital visitors with a bit of light relief through his dedication to the job.
Paula Rogers was visiting a relative in Christchurch Hospital on Sunday when she glanced out the window and saw one man's commitment to his cones.
"I just thought it was hilarious so took a video - I thought everyone would get a bit of a laugh out of it." Rogers said the man spent "a long time" arranging his cones so they were placed "just so".
"He was just so particular in what he was doing, it just kept us entertained. He was very dedicated to his job," she said.
Video.
Paula Rogers was visiting a relative in Christchurch Hospital on Sunday when she glanced out the window and saw one man's commitment to his cones.
"I just thought it was hilarious so took a video - I thought everyone would get a bit of a laugh out of it." Rogers said the man spent "a long time" arranging his cones so they were placed "just so".
"He was just so particular in what he was doing, it just kept us entertained. He was very dedicated to his job," she said.
Video.
Courts rule that parents can't name their babies Nutella or Strawberry
Parents in northern France have been refused permission to name their baby Nutella, while another couple was similarly denied the chance to name their daughter "fraise" (strawberry), because "it wasn't in the child's best interests".
The two sets of parents were so enamoured with the foodstuffs usually associated with the French breakfast table that they officially applied to name their children after them. But they were both denied by court rulings.
One set of parents in Valenciennes, northern France, requested permission to name their child Nutella after the hazelnut chocolate spread from Italy, but a judge ruled that it "wasn't in the best interests of the child" and that she would risk "being mocked". The girl will have to settle for the name Ella.
Another set of parents, meanwhile, were refused after applying to name their child Fraise (strawberry). The couple, from Raismes, were told by a judge that the girl could also face mockery, especially by people using the expression "ramène ta fraise" - a slang phrase roughly meaning "get your ass over here". This girl will instead get the moniker "Fraisine", a name that's been around in France since the 19th century.
The two sets of parents were so enamoured with the foodstuffs usually associated with the French breakfast table that they officially applied to name their children after them. But they were both denied by court rulings.
One set of parents in Valenciennes, northern France, requested permission to name their child Nutella after the hazelnut chocolate spread from Italy, but a judge ruled that it "wasn't in the best interests of the child" and that she would risk "being mocked". The girl will have to settle for the name Ella.
Another set of parents, meanwhile, were refused after applying to name their child Fraise (strawberry). The couple, from Raismes, were told by a judge that the girl could also face mockery, especially by people using the expression "ramène ta fraise" - a slang phrase roughly meaning "get your ass over here". This girl will instead get the moniker "Fraisine", a name that's been around in France since the 19th century.
Councillors posed as roadside prostitutes so that Mayor could promote recycling schemes
Municipal councillors, Anastasia Petrella and Stefania Sangermano, dressed as prostitutes, wearing short skirts and low-cut blouses, by a busy road in Castel Volturno, Italy.
The aim was to trap motorists into being embarrassed by local Mayor Dimitri Russo.
Mayor Russo approached vehicles that had stopped to solicit the councillors and explained that the ladies were not actually prostitutes and that he was running a campaign to promote better recycling schemes in the region.
YouTube link. Alternative video.
Many of the motorists were then stopped by the police around 200 yards (183 metres) down the road and fined due to them violating an anti-prostitution ordinance issued two months ago by Mayor Russo.
The aim was to trap motorists into being embarrassed by local Mayor Dimitri Russo.
Mayor Russo approached vehicles that had stopped to solicit the councillors and explained that the ladies were not actually prostitutes and that he was running a campaign to promote better recycling schemes in the region.
YouTube link. Alternative video.
Many of the motorists were then stopped by the police around 200 yards (183 metres) down the road and fined due to them violating an anti-prostitution ordinance issued two months ago by Mayor Russo.
Poundstretcher staff lost day’s takings by gambling it all on red at casino
Two “grossly stupid” shop workers headed to the casino with the day’s takings – and lost it in one swoop at the roulette table before calmly ringing their boss to confess.
It started as a joke between sales manager Kieron Trott, 19, and his 48-year-old colleague Christopher Cameron, a shopfloor worker, at Poundstretcher in Pallion Retail Park, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, magistrates heard.
The pair were cashing up the day’s takings at the end of their shift on October 13, last year, when they started discussing what it would be like to gamble the £3,380 on red at the roulette wheel.
But when their bet went badly wrong after a casino visit, the pair went back to the store and calmly rang their boss to admit what they had done.
Trott, of Columbia, Washington, and Cameron, of South Durham Court, Hendon, both admitted theft by an employee when they appeared at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court. Prosecutor Lee Poppett branded the offence “somewhat unusual” and said the pair’s boss had left them at the store at the end of her shift that day. “At 9pm she received a call from Mr Trott stating that she needed to come back to the store because they had gambled away the takings,” Mr Poppett said. “She believed it was a form of joke, but Mr Trott said ‘I’m not joking, call the police’. She could hear Mr Cameron in the background saying ‘he is being honest, you have to come back to the store’. That is, in a nutshell, the case.”
Both Trott and Cameron resigned immediately, the court heard, and are in the process of repaying the money to their former employer. Jason Smith, defending Trott, said: “It was an act of gross stupidity. They were saying ‘let’s go and do this, we might make some money out of it’. How that would work is beyond me. They’ve then come back to the store and he’s rang his manager straight away and told them what they had done. He is paying the money back at a rate of £50 a week because, miraculously, he’s managed to find work at Nissan.” Ian Cassidy, defending Cameron, said, the situation was “almost like something out of a comedy” and that his client has never even been to a casino before.
“Mr Cameron was working his regular shift. It was just the two of them and part of the routine is to check the cash that has been taken that day. They are joking saying ‘what would it be like if we took this money and gambled it’. Unbelievably, they persuaded themselves to do this. He can’t quite believe it. He described being in the casino a matter of minutes. They were seen transferring the cash into chips then go to the table saying ‘red?’ and ‘yes’. Lo and behold it came up on black.” Both defendants were given 12-month community orders and were told to pay £110 each in costs and surcharges. Trott was told to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, while Cameron will have to do 66 hours.
Trott, of Columbia, Washington, and Cameron, of South Durham Court, Hendon, both admitted theft by an employee when they appeared at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court. Prosecutor Lee Poppett branded the offence “somewhat unusual” and said the pair’s boss had left them at the store at the end of her shift that day. “At 9pm she received a call from Mr Trott stating that she needed to come back to the store because they had gambled away the takings,” Mr Poppett said. “She believed it was a form of joke, but Mr Trott said ‘I’m not joking, call the police’. She could hear Mr Cameron in the background saying ‘he is being honest, you have to come back to the store’. That is, in a nutshell, the case.”
Both Trott and Cameron resigned immediately, the court heard, and are in the process of repaying the money to their former employer. Jason Smith, defending Trott, said: “It was an act of gross stupidity. They were saying ‘let’s go and do this, we might make some money out of it’. How that would work is beyond me. They’ve then come back to the store and he’s rang his manager straight away and told them what they had done. He is paying the money back at a rate of £50 a week because, miraculously, he’s managed to find work at Nissan.” Ian Cassidy, defending Cameron, said, the situation was “almost like something out of a comedy” and that his client has never even been to a casino before.
“Mr Cameron was working his regular shift. It was just the two of them and part of the routine is to check the cash that has been taken that day. They are joking saying ‘what would it be like if we took this money and gambled it’. Unbelievably, they persuaded themselves to do this. He can’t quite believe it. He described being in the casino a matter of minutes. They were seen transferring the cash into chips then go to the table saying ‘red?’ and ‘yes’. Lo and behold it came up on black.” Both defendants were given 12-month community orders and were told to pay £110 each in costs and surcharges. Trott was told to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, while Cameron will have to do 66 hours.
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