Friday, March 27, 2015
Couple arrested for theft of car, shrimp and underpants
Police in Arlington, Virginia, arrested two people for stealing a car and said that they had also stolen a significant quantity of shrimp and gentlemen’s underwear.
Dustin Sternbeck, a police spokesman, said that Terry Walker, 53, and Alonda Hoe, 41, confessed to the thefts.
They said they had taken the merchandise, at least 10 packages of frozen shrimp, some fresh shrimp, and at least four packages each containing five pairs of men's underwear, from a Walmart in Fairfax County. They had stolen shrimp from Walmart before, the suspects claimed when interviewed by police, and then resold it to Chinese restaurants in the area, authorities said.
They said they planned to do so again, Sternbeck said. Instead, they were stopped by police at 4:36 p.m. on Tuesday. Police had noticed that their licence plate matched that of a car that had been reported stolen, Sternbeck said. That is when police saw the shrimp and underpants inside the 2006 Chrysler Pacifica.
Police said that Walker and Hoe were both under the influence of crack cocaine and alcohol at the time they were arrested. Hoe, of Indian Head, Maryland, was charged with habitual petit larceny. Walker of Arlington was charged with crimes including grand auto larceny, possession of cocaine and driving while intoxicated.
They said they had taken the merchandise, at least 10 packages of frozen shrimp, some fresh shrimp, and at least four packages each containing five pairs of men's underwear, from a Walmart in Fairfax County. They had stolen shrimp from Walmart before, the suspects claimed when interviewed by police, and then resold it to Chinese restaurants in the area, authorities said.
They said they planned to do so again, Sternbeck said. Instead, they were stopped by police at 4:36 p.m. on Tuesday. Police had noticed that their licence plate matched that of a car that had been reported stolen, Sternbeck said. That is when police saw the shrimp and underpants inside the 2006 Chrysler Pacifica.
Police said that Walker and Hoe were both under the influence of crack cocaine and alcohol at the time they were arrested. Hoe, of Indian Head, Maryland, was charged with habitual petit larceny. Walker of Arlington was charged with crimes including grand auto larceny, possession of cocaine and driving while intoxicated.
Police officers that warn someone could be killed after plastic wrap stretched across road
Deputies are searching for those responsible for stretching plastic wrap across Interstate 90 near Wallace, Idaho.
Authorities say a group of people apparently thought it would be fun to take plastic wrap, attach it to overpass columns along the I-90 exit to Kingston, and then tightly stretch it across the road. Shoshone County Deputy Jeremy Ross said several cars were damaged, including one that had its windshield shattered.
Authorities say the plastic is actually comparable to water, because if it’s hit at close range, it won't do much damage, but the results could be disastrous if struck at a high speed. Deputies said the prank could have fatal results. The group of people ran away from the scene by the time deputies arrived.
No one was hurt, but if a sheet of plastic could do significant damage to a car, it could be fatal for a motorcyclist. "It's warming up, people are starting to ride their bikes again, and that could be a serious, serious issue,” said Ross. Should someone be killed by the pranksters’ actions, they could face manslaughter charges.
With news video.
Authorities say a group of people apparently thought it would be fun to take plastic wrap, attach it to overpass columns along the I-90 exit to Kingston, and then tightly stretch it across the road. Shoshone County Deputy Jeremy Ross said several cars were damaged, including one that had its windshield shattered.
Authorities say the plastic is actually comparable to water, because if it’s hit at close range, it won't do much damage, but the results could be disastrous if struck at a high speed. Deputies said the prank could have fatal results. The group of people ran away from the scene by the time deputies arrived.
No one was hurt, but if a sheet of plastic could do significant damage to a car, it could be fatal for a motorcyclist. "It's warming up, people are starting to ride their bikes again, and that could be a serious, serious issue,” said Ross. Should someone be killed by the pranksters’ actions, they could face manslaughter charges.
With news video.
New Zealanders gear up for teapot racing
They may be short and stout, with a handle and a spout, but a bunch of New Zealand teapots now also lay claim to wheels.
Splendid Teapot Racing will feature at the CubaDupa festival on Saturday, the first racing of its kind to be held in Wellington.
Teapot racing originated in Dunedin and had its first public outing at the 2014 Steampunk NZ Festival in Oamaru. A new favourite sport for Steampunk enthusiasts, it consists of radio-controlled vehicles with teapots attached being timed while individually navigating an obstacle course.
Capital! Steampunk founder Leslie Craven (aka Colonel Julius Hawthorne) says teapot racing is harder than it sounds. "You really have to take it slowly and gently and it's quite tense because you're against the clock." Craven, a business analyst from Hataitai, describes Steampunk as Victorian-influenced science fiction.
YouTube link.
"It encompasses a lot of things, but is inspired by some of the first Steampunk authors who used Edwardian settings with technology they didn't have at the time." Ten converted teapots from various Steampunk groups around New Zealand will tackle the obstacle course at Thistle Hall on Saturday. Racing is from 10am to midday and is free for spectators.
Teapot racing originated in Dunedin and had its first public outing at the 2014 Steampunk NZ Festival in Oamaru. A new favourite sport for Steampunk enthusiasts, it consists of radio-controlled vehicles with teapots attached being timed while individually navigating an obstacle course.
Capital! Steampunk founder Leslie Craven (aka Colonel Julius Hawthorne) says teapot racing is harder than it sounds. "You really have to take it slowly and gently and it's quite tense because you're against the clock." Craven, a business analyst from Hataitai, describes Steampunk as Victorian-influenced science fiction.
YouTube link.
"It encompasses a lot of things, but is inspired by some of the first Steampunk authors who used Edwardian settings with technology they didn't have at the time." Ten converted teapots from various Steampunk groups around New Zealand will tackle the obstacle course at Thistle Hall on Saturday. Racing is from 10am to midday and is free for spectators.
Psychotic Samurai sword-wielding man dressed as Shaolin monk injured six police officers
Six police officers in Vienna, Austria, were injured by a psychotic man dressed as a Shaolin monk and wielding a Samurai sword on Monday.
Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said that the drama started when a woman in an apartment in Kudlichgasse, in the Favoriten district, heard a loud knocking on her door at 2:00am. She opened the door to find a bald-headed man she had never met before dressed in an orange monk’s robe, and armed with a large sword. He pushed his way into her home, and she ran out and called the police.
Three police officers arrived at the building shortly afterwards and found the 39-year-old man in the stairwell. They surprised him with pepper spray and managed to knock the sword out of his hand but all three officers were seriously injured in the scuffle. As the man seemed to be suffering from mental illness they took him to the Rufolfstiftung psychiatric hospital.
However, he managed to escape from the hospital just hours later and was spotted in Meidling cemetery wearing a white hospital gown. When three police officers arrived he karate kicked and punched them. Again, they had to use pepper spray to subdue him and then took him back to hospital.
Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said that the drama started when a woman in an apartment in Kudlichgasse, in the Favoriten district, heard a loud knocking on her door at 2:00am. She opened the door to find a bald-headed man she had never met before dressed in an orange monk’s robe, and armed with a large sword. He pushed his way into her home, and she ran out and called the police.
Three police officers arrived at the building shortly afterwards and found the 39-year-old man in the stairwell. They surprised him with pepper spray and managed to knock the sword out of his hand but all three officers were seriously injured in the scuffle. As the man seemed to be suffering from mental illness they took him to the Rufolfstiftung psychiatric hospital.
However, he managed to escape from the hospital just hours later and was spotted in Meidling cemetery wearing a white hospital gown. When three police officers arrived he karate kicked and punched them. Again, they had to use pepper spray to subdue him and then took him back to hospital.
Deaf man who called police officer ‘pig’ in sign language given conditional discharge
A man with a hearing disability from Kendal, Cumbria, was arrested after saying 'pig' in sign language to a police officer, a court heard.
South Cumbria Magistrates Court was told that police were called to McDonalds on Stricklandgate after reports of a man 'causing difficulties'. Linley Hassan, 25, of no fixed address, refused to leave the restaurant and became 'confrontational' with the police.
Peter Kelly, prosecuting, said: "He was making a sign that the officer, who understood sign language, knew to mean 'pig'." In mitigation, John Batty said Hassan had had a volatile existence of late and had been going to great lengths to reduce his alcohol intake.
Hassan pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly. He was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and a £30 contribution towards court costs.
South Cumbria Magistrates Court was told that police were called to McDonalds on Stricklandgate after reports of a man 'causing difficulties'. Linley Hassan, 25, of no fixed address, refused to leave the restaurant and became 'confrontational' with the police.
Peter Kelly, prosecuting, said: "He was making a sign that the officer, who understood sign language, knew to mean 'pig'." In mitigation, John Batty said Hassan had had a volatile existence of late and had been going to great lengths to reduce his alcohol intake.
Hassan pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly. He was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and a £30 contribution towards court costs.
Police called to school by residents concerned that work on its new football pitch could kill bats
Police were called to a school over fears that bats could be killed.
Residents living near Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton, Sussex, called the police accusing the school of potentially destroying bat habitats as part of work to build a new artificial football pitch.
Neighbours have been calling for environmental surveys into two species of endangered bat believed to live at the school.
But when diggers arrived on the school fields on Tuesday morning tempers flared. Council planners have told the school they are not allowed to start work until ecological surveys have been approved. But workers appeared to have starting work removing trees. David Alderton, chairman of the Preston Park and Fiveways Local Action Team, said: “Many people – including the parents of pupils at Stringer – are very upset by what is going on.
“There are at least two species of bat there, and birds’ nests are potentially being destroyed illegally as well, as a result of this unauthorised development work. I think this sets an appalling example for the pupils at this school – it sends a message that wildlife is completely expendable and you do not need to consider it seriously when undertaking large-scale development work. Bats are strictly protected in this country.”
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “At 11.50am on Tuesday we received a call from a local resident that bats were being endangered in woodland next to Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton. A PCSO attended, confirmed that the issue had nothing to do with the police and advised the caller to speak to the council planning department.” A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The school has actively approached us regarding their obligations about bats under the planning consent. As the planning authority, we’ll be making sure that all planning conditions for this project are met.”
But when diggers arrived on the school fields on Tuesday morning tempers flared. Council planners have told the school they are not allowed to start work until ecological surveys have been approved. But workers appeared to have starting work removing trees. David Alderton, chairman of the Preston Park and Fiveways Local Action Team, said: “Many people – including the parents of pupils at Stringer – are very upset by what is going on.
“There are at least two species of bat there, and birds’ nests are potentially being destroyed illegally as well, as a result of this unauthorised development work. I think this sets an appalling example for the pupils at this school – it sends a message that wildlife is completely expendable and you do not need to consider it seriously when undertaking large-scale development work. Bats are strictly protected in this country.”
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “At 11.50am on Tuesday we received a call from a local resident that bats were being endangered in woodland next to Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton. A PCSO attended, confirmed that the issue had nothing to do with the police and advised the caller to speak to the council planning department.” A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The school has actively approached us regarding their obligations about bats under the planning consent. As the planning authority, we’ll be making sure that all planning conditions for this project are met.”
Man who tried to hold up bookmakers while armed with tin of John West pilchards spared jail
A man has escaped jail after trying to hold up his local bookmakers with a tin of pilchards.
Rory Seager, 18, owed a friend £1,800 and spent the day ploughing his last pennies into roulette machines hoping to win the money until he was down to his last pound.
The 6ft 4in teenager then hit upon plan to rob the bookies - where he was a regular customer.
He bought a 99p tin of John West pilchards and burst into William Hill in Ilford, nort heast London, last December, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Seager demanded cash and claimed the tin of fish in tomato sauce in his black bag was a lethal explosive device.
"I've got a bomb," he told cashier Adeyemi Awomudu who simply walked off into a secure room at the back of the shop.
Realising he had not thought his plan through, Seager hurled the tin across the shop in frustration and left. Mr Awomudu had recognised him and Seager was arrested shortly afterwards, confessing to his bungled plan immediately at the police station. He admitted attempted robbery and one count of communicating false information about a bomb hoax. Edward Franklin, prosecuting, said: "This wasn't a classic bomb hoax in that the security services weren't alerted and there's no evidence that any action was taken by the authorities. This is beat dealt with as an attempted robbery - you can say you have a knife or a gun, in this case it was a tin of pilchards masquerading as a bomb."
Caroline Carberry, defending, said Seager had been suffering from depression at the time of the incident and has Tourette's Syndrome. These are serious offences and I accept that normally these types of offences would merit an immediate sentence of imprisonment," she said. "He's far from someone who fits the profile of a robber of a small business, it's a great irony that Rory Seager went into a bookmaker somewhere he was known - he knew the man behind the counter." She added that Seager's own mother also works at a bookmakers and choosing to rob a similar premises indicated he 'hadn't given it much thought.' "This was entirely out of character, this was an aberration in this young man's life," she went on.
Passing down a two-year suspended sentence, two year's supervision by the probation service and ordering him to undergo mental health treatment, Judge Karl King said: "There can be absolutely no doubt that what you did was to commit a very serious offence. You secreted this item in a black bag, no doubt to give it a more convincing air to what you were doing. I'm satisfied that the custody threshold has been passed but what I am about to do is exceptional and does not reduce the gravity of your offence you committed. I am persuaded that I can suspend the sentence." Judge King also barred him from any betting shop for the next 12 months and ordered him to pay a £100 surcharge. Seager, of Ilford, wiped away tears as his sentence was read out. One of his family shouted "You are a just and a fair man, your honour" as the judge left the bench.
Realising he had not thought his plan through, Seager hurled the tin across the shop in frustration and left. Mr Awomudu had recognised him and Seager was arrested shortly afterwards, confessing to his bungled plan immediately at the police station. He admitted attempted robbery and one count of communicating false information about a bomb hoax. Edward Franklin, prosecuting, said: "This wasn't a classic bomb hoax in that the security services weren't alerted and there's no evidence that any action was taken by the authorities. This is beat dealt with as an attempted robbery - you can say you have a knife or a gun, in this case it was a tin of pilchards masquerading as a bomb."
Caroline Carberry, defending, said Seager had been suffering from depression at the time of the incident and has Tourette's Syndrome. These are serious offences and I accept that normally these types of offences would merit an immediate sentence of imprisonment," she said. "He's far from someone who fits the profile of a robber of a small business, it's a great irony that Rory Seager went into a bookmaker somewhere he was known - he knew the man behind the counter." She added that Seager's own mother also works at a bookmakers and choosing to rob a similar premises indicated he 'hadn't given it much thought.' "This was entirely out of character, this was an aberration in this young man's life," she went on.
Passing down a two-year suspended sentence, two year's supervision by the probation service and ordering him to undergo mental health treatment, Judge Karl King said: "There can be absolutely no doubt that what you did was to commit a very serious offence. You secreted this item in a black bag, no doubt to give it a more convincing air to what you were doing. I'm satisfied that the custody threshold has been passed but what I am about to do is exceptional and does not reduce the gravity of your offence you committed. I am persuaded that I can suspend the sentence." Judge King also barred him from any betting shop for the next 12 months and ordered him to pay a £100 surcharge. Seager, of Ilford, wiped away tears as his sentence was read out. One of his family shouted "You are a just and a fair man, your honour" as the judge left the bench.
Call for return of top inch of England's highest mountain that was 'stolen' by artist
Cumbrians are demanding the return of a crucial piece of England’s highest mountain, which an artist has admitted taking.
Tourism bosses said they want Ecuadorian artist Oscar Santillan to give back the small stone taken from Scafell Pike.
The rock features in an exhibition at the London gallery Copperfields, and is described by the exhibition organisers as the uppermost inch of the highest mountain in England.
It forms part of Santillan’s The Intruder, which has the stone embedded in a pedestal. A description of the exhibition says: “The exhibition ultimately draws out the obscure. Unexpected events occur: the dance of a dead philosopher is unveiled, a piece of land is taken, nature and culture collide. Departing from the tradition of land art in making often major modifications to the natural landscape, The Intruder presents an inch of stone carefully removed from the English countryside.
“At a glance it is seemingly insignificant and yet the material is carefully presented. Scaling the 3,028ft Scafell Pike in the Lake District, the artist has taken the uppermost inch of the highest mountain in England. An entire nation’s height is modified and its landscape redefined by means of a single precise action. The artist explores the way in which human categories are imposed on nature: the largest, the tallest, the most powerful.”
Ian Stephens, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: “We are all aware that Cumbria’s landscape has long inspired generations of artists. These include international greats like JMW Turner, Ruskin, Schwitters and Li Yyan-chia, considered to be one of the founding fathers of Chinese abstract painting. These individuals have all taken a piece of this landscape away in the figurative sense. This is taking the mickey and we want the top of our mountain back. At the very least we would like to see the piece returned to the county it has been removed from.”
It forms part of Santillan’s The Intruder, which has the stone embedded in a pedestal. A description of the exhibition says: “The exhibition ultimately draws out the obscure. Unexpected events occur: the dance of a dead philosopher is unveiled, a piece of land is taken, nature and culture collide. Departing from the tradition of land art in making often major modifications to the natural landscape, The Intruder presents an inch of stone carefully removed from the English countryside.
“At a glance it is seemingly insignificant and yet the material is carefully presented. Scaling the 3,028ft Scafell Pike in the Lake District, the artist has taken the uppermost inch of the highest mountain in England. An entire nation’s height is modified and its landscape redefined by means of a single precise action. The artist explores the way in which human categories are imposed on nature: the largest, the tallest, the most powerful.”
Ian Stephens, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: “We are all aware that Cumbria’s landscape has long inspired generations of artists. These include international greats like JMW Turner, Ruskin, Schwitters and Li Yyan-chia, considered to be one of the founding fathers of Chinese abstract painting. These individuals have all taken a piece of this landscape away in the figurative sense. This is taking the mickey and we want the top of our mountain back. At the very least we would like to see the piece returned to the county it has been removed from.”
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