Wednesday, December 09, 2015
Speeding man was naked and drunk with three women in his car
A naked man accused of driving at 110 mph across Alligator Alley with three female passengers was arrested on Saturday afternoon on a DUI charge, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.
At around 3pm, authorities began receiving calls of a Cadillac driving recklessly, on and off the road, near the middle of Alligator Alley, according to an arrest report. About 10 minutes later, an FHP trooper spotted the car as it travelled towards the Naples area. The trooper estimated the vehicle's speed at 110 mph. His radar said the Cadillac was driving 109 mph.
The trooper stopped the car. He noticed the driver had no shirt on and an open 12-pack of Corona beer between the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. He asked the driver, Noe Dejesus, 33, to step out of the car. When Dejesus opened the door, the trooper saw he was naked. Dejesus smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and had bloodshot eyes, reports said.
When he stepped out of the vehicle to put his pants on, he stumbled and nearly fell. Inside the car the trooper found several empty or nearly empty beer bottles and a nearly empty bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. Dejesus, of Lehigh Acres, declined to perform field sobriety tests and was arrested. In addition to the DUI charge, he is also facing a misdemeanor charge of driving without a licence.
At around 3pm, authorities began receiving calls of a Cadillac driving recklessly, on and off the road, near the middle of Alligator Alley, according to an arrest report. About 10 minutes later, an FHP trooper spotted the car as it travelled towards the Naples area. The trooper estimated the vehicle's speed at 110 mph. His radar said the Cadillac was driving 109 mph.
The trooper stopped the car. He noticed the driver had no shirt on and an open 12-pack of Corona beer between the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. He asked the driver, Noe Dejesus, 33, to step out of the car. When Dejesus opened the door, the trooper saw he was naked. Dejesus smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and had bloodshot eyes, reports said.
When he stepped out of the vehicle to put his pants on, he stumbled and nearly fell. Inside the car the trooper found several empty or nearly empty beer bottles and a nearly empty bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. Dejesus, of Lehigh Acres, declined to perform field sobriety tests and was arrested. In addition to the DUI charge, he is also facing a misdemeanor charge of driving without a licence.
Burglary suspect killed by alligator while hiding from police in pond
An accused burglar is dead after police in Florida said he hid in a pond while on the run and was killed by an 11-foot-long alligator.
Matthew Riggins, 22, of Palm Bay was reported missing on Nov. 13. His body was found 10 days later floating in a pond in Barefoot Bay. Investigators said it had the makings of a gator attack.
Shortly before Riggins was reported missing, he called his girlfriend and told her he'd be in the area breaking into homes, deputies said.
"He was going to do burglaries in the Barefoot Bay area with another individual," said Maj. Tod Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. Neighbours reported to authorities that they saw two men dressed in black lurking behind homes. Deputies began searching the area and were later joined by more deputies, K-9 units and a sheriff's helicopter. Investigators said Riggins then called his girlfriend to tell her they were being chased and lying low.
"Do you still here them hollering, or did they hunker down?" deputies could be heard saying on radio traffic. Brevard County deputies called off the search that night, but then Riggins' family reported him missing less than 24 hours later. "He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator," Goodyear said. "To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I've never had that happen before."
YouTube link.
"He hid in the wrong place," said Laura Farris, a Barefoot Bay resident. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office dive team encountered the same gator while recovering the man's body, and the animal had to be euthanized by a trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Inside the gator's stomach, the medical examiner found proof of how Riggins was killed. "I would say it's poetic justice, you want to sit there and steal from people," Barefoot Bay resident Chuck Stokes said. Investigators said the other man thought to be breaking into homes with Riggins has not cooperated with the case, but so far he has not been charged.
"He was going to do burglaries in the Barefoot Bay area with another individual," said Maj. Tod Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. Neighbours reported to authorities that they saw two men dressed in black lurking behind homes. Deputies began searching the area and were later joined by more deputies, K-9 units and a sheriff's helicopter. Investigators said Riggins then called his girlfriend to tell her they were being chased and lying low.
"Do you still here them hollering, or did they hunker down?" deputies could be heard saying on radio traffic. Brevard County deputies called off the search that night, but then Riggins' family reported him missing less than 24 hours later. "He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator," Goodyear said. "To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I've never had that happen before."
YouTube link.
"He hid in the wrong place," said Laura Farris, a Barefoot Bay resident. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office dive team encountered the same gator while recovering the man's body, and the animal had to be euthanized by a trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Inside the gator's stomach, the medical examiner found proof of how Riggins was killed. "I would say it's poetic justice, you want to sit there and steal from people," Barefoot Bay resident Chuck Stokes said. Investigators said the other man thought to be breaking into homes with Riggins has not cooperated with the case, but so far he has not been charged.
Cabbage pudding fan suspected of running illegal home brewery
Police were called out to an apartment block in Södertälje, Swden, after a mysterious smell prompted an anonymous witness to suspect their neighbour was running an illegal alcohol home brewery.
The unnamed resident called the police on Sunday afternoon after they smelled something oddly reminiscent of mash, a product created when grain and water are distilled to make strong alcohol.
They immediately suspected their neighbour was attempting to make moonshine (or, 'hembränt', in Swedish), a custom which is strictly illegal but remains vaguely socially accepted in much of rural Sweden. It is usually made by distilling ingredients including yeast, sugar and water. However, if the still is mishandled it can cause a major blast, which the anonymous witness suspected was about to happen.
“The neighbour was afraid it was about to explode,” police spokesman Johan Sjöholm said. However, when police showed up at the apartment they found the peculiar smell came only from the suspected moonshine producer's Sunday dinner: Swedish cabbage pudding ('kålpudding'). Cabbage pudding is traditional Swedish comfort food and consists of chopped cabbage mixed with, usually, minced beef or pork. It is usually served with boiled potatoes and lingonberries.
The unnamed resident called the police on Sunday afternoon after they smelled something oddly reminiscent of mash, a product created when grain and water are distilled to make strong alcohol.
They immediately suspected their neighbour was attempting to make moonshine (or, 'hembränt', in Swedish), a custom which is strictly illegal but remains vaguely socially accepted in much of rural Sweden. It is usually made by distilling ingredients including yeast, sugar and water. However, if the still is mishandled it can cause a major blast, which the anonymous witness suspected was about to happen.
“The neighbour was afraid it was about to explode,” police spokesman Johan Sjöholm said. However, when police showed up at the apartment they found the peculiar smell came only from the suspected moonshine producer's Sunday dinner: Swedish cabbage pudding ('kålpudding'). Cabbage pudding is traditional Swedish comfort food and consists of chopped cabbage mixed with, usually, minced beef or pork. It is usually served with boiled potatoes and lingonberries.
Man faces jail after activating James Bond-style smoke screen in attempt to shake off police
A driver from Carmarthenshire in Wales has been warned he could be jailed after attempting to shake off a pursuing police officer by activating a James Bond-style smoke screen he’d fitted in his car.
Simon Chaplin, 62, flicked a switch on the dashboard of his red Peugeot 309 and “colossal” amounts of smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, a court heard.
Police constable Dafydd Campbell Birch only caught up five miles later when Chaplin turned into a farmyard, Swansea Crown Court was told.
Chaplin had a bucket of diesel behind the passenger seat connected to a pump with a pipe leading into the exhaust.
At the flick of the switch diesel was dripped into the hot exhaust pipe to produce clouds of smoke. Chaplin was convicted of causing a danger to other road users by deliberately causing smoke to be emitted. Pc Campbell Birch said he wanted to stop the Peugeot because its number plate was “DE JURE”, which “didn’t look right.” He turned around on the B4329 near Haverfordwest and was met by clouds of smoke as Chaplin accelerated away. The officer followed Chaplin through country lanes and villages – sometimes only by using the smoke because he couldn’t actually see the Peugeot. He said: “There was a vast amount of dense smoke coming out the back. It completely obscured the road.
“I had to slow down and keep a distance. At times I came to an almost complete stop due to the smoke. I had to look across the top of hedgerows to see where he had gone. For a while I couldn’t see the car but in the distance I could see smoke going up a hill towards the village of Crundale. I caught up with him but the smoke kept coming thick and fast.” Pc Campbell Birch cornered Chaplin in the farmyard. Chaplin claimed to the jury that on January 19, six days before the incident, he was attacked by police officers who dragged him out of his mechanical digger and knocked his head on the ground several times. He said they later drove him to Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, where they put him inside an ambulance.
After being treated he was placed back into police custody but returned to hospital by the officers when he became unwell. Chaplin said he saw Pc Birch activate a flashing blue light “but sort of panicked” and feared “he was going to be beaten up again”. The defendant said the car and the smoke-making “contraption” belonged to another man. He said the smoke machine was designed to get rid of moles. James Hartson, prosecuting, pointed out moles lived underground but Chaplin said that during normal usage a pipe would be connected to the end of the exhaust and pushed into molehills. Chaplin, of Parc y Delyn Uchaf, Hebron, near Whitland , Carmarthenshire , will be sentenced at a later date and was granted bail though Recorder Elwen Evans QC warned him he may be jailed.
At the flick of the switch diesel was dripped into the hot exhaust pipe to produce clouds of smoke. Chaplin was convicted of causing a danger to other road users by deliberately causing smoke to be emitted. Pc Campbell Birch said he wanted to stop the Peugeot because its number plate was “DE JURE”, which “didn’t look right.” He turned around on the B4329 near Haverfordwest and was met by clouds of smoke as Chaplin accelerated away. The officer followed Chaplin through country lanes and villages – sometimes only by using the smoke because he couldn’t actually see the Peugeot. He said: “There was a vast amount of dense smoke coming out the back. It completely obscured the road.
“I had to slow down and keep a distance. At times I came to an almost complete stop due to the smoke. I had to look across the top of hedgerows to see where he had gone. For a while I couldn’t see the car but in the distance I could see smoke going up a hill towards the village of Crundale. I caught up with him but the smoke kept coming thick and fast.” Pc Campbell Birch cornered Chaplin in the farmyard. Chaplin claimed to the jury that on January 19, six days before the incident, he was attacked by police officers who dragged him out of his mechanical digger and knocked his head on the ground several times. He said they later drove him to Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, where they put him inside an ambulance.
After being treated he was placed back into police custody but returned to hospital by the officers when he became unwell. Chaplin said he saw Pc Birch activate a flashing blue light “but sort of panicked” and feared “he was going to be beaten up again”. The defendant said the car and the smoke-making “contraption” belonged to another man. He said the smoke machine was designed to get rid of moles. James Hartson, prosecuting, pointed out moles lived underground but Chaplin said that during normal usage a pipe would be connected to the end of the exhaust and pushed into molehills. Chaplin, of Parc y Delyn Uchaf, Hebron, near Whitland , Carmarthenshire , will be sentenced at a later date and was granted bail though Recorder Elwen Evans QC warned him he may be jailed.
Amputated leg weight contest raised £1,500 for charity
A competition to guess the weight of a man's amputated leg has raised over £1,500 for charity.
Peter Rowswell, from Langport in Somerset, who had suffered from clubfoot since birth, had his left leg removed below the knee last week.
The 30-year-old invited friends and family to guess the weight of his severed limb to raise funds for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
His leg weighed 3lb 8oz - about the same as three and a half tins of beans. The winning guess was made by Mr Rowswell's father, who predicted it would weigh 3lb 10oz. "I told him at the time it was a cheeky guess," said Mr Rowswell, who had expected the leg to weigh more. "I've got spindly legs because of my condition so the calf muscles haven't developed properly, " he said.
The prize was a bottle of champagne donated by Mr Rowswell's employer. Mr Rowswell, who holds black belts in a number of martial arts, said he plans to get back to training and back on a motorbike as soon as possible. He will be fitted with a prosthetic leg in a couple of months and aims to be back at work in six months.
"I was quite clear how I felt that this is it - the start of my better life," he said. "I do look at where my leg was and think 'I can't believe I've actually done it - had my leg chopped off' but I don't regret it, never in the slightest." Mr Rowswell said took the decision to have his leg removed due to needing a "stupid" amount of pain relief just to walk.
His leg weighed 3lb 8oz - about the same as three and a half tins of beans. The winning guess was made by Mr Rowswell's father, who predicted it would weigh 3lb 10oz. "I told him at the time it was a cheeky guess," said Mr Rowswell, who had expected the leg to weigh more. "I've got spindly legs because of my condition so the calf muscles haven't developed properly, " he said.
The prize was a bottle of champagne donated by Mr Rowswell's employer. Mr Rowswell, who holds black belts in a number of martial arts, said he plans to get back to training and back on a motorbike as soon as possible. He will be fitted with a prosthetic leg in a couple of months and aims to be back at work in six months.
"I was quite clear how I felt that this is it - the start of my better life," he said. "I do look at where my leg was and think 'I can't believe I've actually done it - had my leg chopped off' but I don't regret it, never in the slightest." Mr Rowswell said took the decision to have his leg removed due to needing a "stupid" amount of pain relief just to walk.
'Dismal And' wins the Turnip Prize
A doodle on a piece of wood by a former theme park worker has won the top prize in a contest which recognises the "lack of effort" required to create it.
Dismal And by "Bonksy" was one of 69 entries to this year's Turnip Prize.
Accepting his prize Mr Bonsky, from Bristol, said: "If you set your sights on the gutter and refuse to work hard your dreams really can come true". The 53-year-old winner is said to have reluctantly accepted his prize, a turnip mounted on a six-inch nail.
Organiser Trevor Prideaux said, "I am delighted with the lack of effort taken to create this work. This year's event attracted a total of 69 entries, which is exactly the same as last year. It's fantastic that Bonksy has won, he clearly has what it takes to be recognised in modern art circles and will be remembered in art history for no time at all!". The shortlist of entries in 2015 has been whittled down from 69 to six.
This years finalists were: "Danger Mouse" by P. Enfold, "Staple Diet" by Art Ist, "A Clean Slate" by Asif, "Hung like a Donkey" by Pat McGroin, "Dismal And" by Mr Bonksy, and "A Roll in the Hay" by Imogen Crees.The ceremony took place at the New Inn in Wedmore, Somerset, on Monday evening. The contest satirises the Turner Prize, which was also presented on Monday evening, by rewarding deliberately bad modern art.
Accepting his prize Mr Bonsky, from Bristol, said: "If you set your sights on the gutter and refuse to work hard your dreams really can come true". The 53-year-old winner is said to have reluctantly accepted his prize, a turnip mounted on a six-inch nail.
Organiser Trevor Prideaux said, "I am delighted with the lack of effort taken to create this work. This year's event attracted a total of 69 entries, which is exactly the same as last year. It's fantastic that Bonksy has won, he clearly has what it takes to be recognised in modern art circles and will be remembered in art history for no time at all!". The shortlist of entries in 2015 has been whittled down from 69 to six.
This years finalists were: "Danger Mouse" by P. Enfold, "Staple Diet" by Art Ist, "A Clean Slate" by Asif, "Hung like a Donkey" by Pat McGroin, "Dismal And" by Mr Bonksy, and "A Roll in the Hay" by Imogen Crees.The ceremony took place at the New Inn in Wedmore, Somerset, on Monday evening. The contest satirises the Turner Prize, which was also presented on Monday evening, by rewarding deliberately bad modern art.
Peter Gabriel wants to teach chimpanzees to use Skype
Musician Peter Gabriel has long been interested in extending use of the internet to other species. As part of the Interspecies Internet project, which he has been working on with pioneers such as Vint Cerf, one of the architects of the internet, and academics such as Neil Gershenfeld, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gabriel is planning to run an experiment at Monkey World, the Dorset-based chimp rescue centre.
If the experiment goes ahead, a spokesperson for Monkey World said the plans were still at a very early stage and wouldn’t comment further, the hope is to see if chimpanzees could learn to use videoconferencing to communicate with each other. “The idea is to extend a big video network that already exists in labs at [MIT] so that different species including our own have a chance to communicate,” said Gabriel. “I am also interested in how they would use the internet to communicate.”
After that, he would be looking at how they could communicate with us. Exciting as it sounds, there are likely to be obstacles. “In the 70s there was the idea to try and teach [chimpanzees] sign language to see if that would help them communicate with us,” says Dr Bridget Waller, director of the Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Portsmouth. “We don’t really do that any more. It’s more about trying to work out what their communication – their calls, facial expressions and gestures – is about, rather than trying to teach them artificial ways of communicating.”
Primates are also very territorial, she says, and if they think an animal they don’t know is in their enclosure, there may be issues. Asked if the project will improve communication with humans, Waller said: “I think we’re already pretty good at communicating with primates when they’re in captivity. We use touchscreens in our facility at the Isle of Wight, with macaques. We have shared communication systems in place. We know what some of their facial expressions and gestures mean. Whether videoconferencing will help that, I’m not entirely sure.” If nothing else, technology might enrich the lives of captive primates, she says. “Primates are complex creatures and they need to be stimulated when we keep them in captivity.”
If the experiment goes ahead, a spokesperson for Monkey World said the plans were still at a very early stage and wouldn’t comment further, the hope is to see if chimpanzees could learn to use videoconferencing to communicate with each other. “The idea is to extend a big video network that already exists in labs at [MIT] so that different species including our own have a chance to communicate,” said Gabriel. “I am also interested in how they would use the internet to communicate.”
After that, he would be looking at how they could communicate with us. Exciting as it sounds, there are likely to be obstacles. “In the 70s there was the idea to try and teach [chimpanzees] sign language to see if that would help them communicate with us,” says Dr Bridget Waller, director of the Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Portsmouth. “We don’t really do that any more. It’s more about trying to work out what their communication – their calls, facial expressions and gestures – is about, rather than trying to teach them artificial ways of communicating.”
Primates are also very territorial, she says, and if they think an animal they don’t know is in their enclosure, there may be issues. Asked if the project will improve communication with humans, Waller said: “I think we’re already pretty good at communicating with primates when they’re in captivity. We use touchscreens in our facility at the Isle of Wight, with macaques. We have shared communication systems in place. We know what some of their facial expressions and gestures mean. Whether videoconferencing will help that, I’m not entirely sure.” If nothing else, technology might enrich the lives of captive primates, she says. “Primates are complex creatures and they need to be stimulated when we keep them in captivity.”
Fox talked down from ledge above Pizza Hut
Shoppers in Glasgow coaxed down a fox which was balancing above a city-centre restaurant.
The furry animal got stuck on a ledge above Pizza Hut’s Argyle Street branch at around midday on Monday.
A crowd of around 150 people gathered to see the petrified fox, and to try and talk it down from the ledge 15ft above the ground.
One blue-haired woman was widely credited with coaxing it down. But barman Ross McCreadie, 25, claims he is the man who rescued the fox. Ross, of Troon, Ayrshire, said: “I came round the corner, and there was a group of people standing around taking photos and doing nothing else, so I went to try and help. There were people who had opened the windows on the other side, but the fox looked like he didn't really know what to do.
“I managed to coax him down off the ledge, and he jumped down. I went to catch him, but he landed on the ground on all fours before running off and hiding under a bus. It was a strange thing to see, but I’m just glad he was okay.” SSPCA Animal rescue officer Jan Toraman, who was called to the ‘unusual rescue’, was pleased to report that despite all the commotion, the fox seemed to be okay when it finally made it down.
Jan said, “I was called to an unusual rescue when a young fox was spotted on the ledge of the building. When I arrived the fox had jumped down and was hiding under a bus. However, when I approached it ran away into a disused car park. I followed the fox along with police officers who were on the scene but it made off. It appeared to be running on all four legs without any problems so we don’t think it has been injured. This was certainly a very strange sight and a large crowd had gathered to take a look. I think it’s possible the fox got into one of the buildings on the street and made its way out on to the ledge from there.”
One blue-haired woman was widely credited with coaxing it down. But barman Ross McCreadie, 25, claims he is the man who rescued the fox. Ross, of Troon, Ayrshire, said: “I came round the corner, and there was a group of people standing around taking photos and doing nothing else, so I went to try and help. There were people who had opened the windows on the other side, but the fox looked like he didn't really know what to do.
“I managed to coax him down off the ledge, and he jumped down. I went to catch him, but he landed on the ground on all fours before running off and hiding under a bus. It was a strange thing to see, but I’m just glad he was okay.” SSPCA Animal rescue officer Jan Toraman, who was called to the ‘unusual rescue’, was pleased to report that despite all the commotion, the fox seemed to be okay when it finally made it down.
Jan said, “I was called to an unusual rescue when a young fox was spotted on the ledge of the building. When I arrived the fox had jumped down and was hiding under a bus. However, when I approached it ran away into a disused car park. I followed the fox along with police officers who were on the scene but it made off. It appeared to be running on all four legs without any problems so we don’t think it has been injured. This was certainly a very strange sight and a large crowd had gathered to take a look. I think it’s possible the fox got into one of the buildings on the street and made its way out on to the ledge from there.”
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