Articles Posted in Odd Cases

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Technically it’s a burglary, since the home was broken into, and something was stolen. But really, jellybeans? And nothing else? As reported by the Erie Times News:

Police said the burglar broke the window in the front door of a home in the 12000 block of East Lake Road in North East Township sometime between 7 and 11:59 p.m. on April 24. Once inside, the burglar took some jellybeans sitting on the dining room table and left.

Police said no other property inside the home was missing or moved.

Nutty. Here’s the source. (In the same vein, check out this post.)

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If you don’t like the maid, why not just fire her? And if you guessed that this didn’t happen in the US, you’re right. It was in Kuwait. Per the Arab Times:

Police have arrested an Asian housemaid for allegedly ‘ruining’ the family of her sponsor through black magic, reports Al-Shahed daily.

The arrest came when a Kuwaiti in his 40s filed a complaint with the police that seven days after hiring the housemaid there was a high degree of confusion in his home and he suspected the maid of doing black magic.


The man added he children complained of suffering from illusions and they looked terrified. He added he kept a watch on the maid and heard her uttering strange words while practicing magic in the kitchen. On the day of the incident he interrupted her and seized magic charms from her possession.


During interrogation the maid is said to have admitted to the act.

She added the family was treating her bad and wanted to take revenge.


Now that’s the first thing that has made any sense.

The maid has been referred to the General Immigration Department to prepare her deportation from the country.

Well, as long as she got a fair hearing …

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“Show and tell” didn’t turn out too well for the mother of a Missouri kindergartner. As reported by kctv5.com:

The task for the fresh-faced kindergartner students was to bring important family items for show and tell.

But one kindergartner floored his teacher and local law enforcement officers when police say he pulled his mother’s crack pipe and an ounce of drugs from his backpack.

The child’s mother was charged with possession of a controlled substance and one count of first-degree child endangerment. Bond was set at $7,500 for 32-year-old Michelle Marie Cheatham.

The rocks turned out to be meth. You can read more here.

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Remember, this guy was allegedly drunk. So what kind of DUI was it? Per the Beaver County Times (Pennsylvania):

An Ohioville police report said a 911 call came in at 1:40 p.m. Thursday for an “out-of-control male” in the 6000 block of Tuscawaras Road.

Hmm. Seems pretty average so far.

On the way to the location, the officer spotted Mark Grove, 44, of 146 Valleyview Drive driving a lawn tractor down the middle of the road, the report said.

Go on …

Grove smelled of alcohol, was slurring his words and was nearly unintelligible, the report said. There was also a coffee mug sitting on the tractor that was leaking beer, the report said. Grove told the officer, “I’m drunk. Just take me home,” the report said.

“Oh sure. No problem. What’s your address?” Um. No.

Once in the patrol car, Grove tried to kick out the window of the car and then kicked the officer three times, the report said. Grove then threatened to “tear up the hospital” and head-butted the partition between the front and rear seats of the patrol car, the report said.

Now you’re really not getting that ride home.

At the hospital, Grove refused to take a blood-alcohol test or sign any forms, the report said. Once back at the police station, Grove attempted to escape from police custody and damaged a bench and the floor of the station, the report said.

As Mr. Sulu would say “oh my.”

Grove is charged with drunken driving, aggravated assault, criminal mischief, institutional vandalism, resisting arrest, escape, disorderly conduct, driving under suspension, habitual offender for driving under suspension and disregard for traffic lanes.

Here’s the source.

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It’s hard finding work in this economy. But the economy had nothing to do with this gent not getting a job with the sheriff’s department in Warren County, Mississippi. That would have been due to the outstanding warrant for his arrest! Per The Herald Tribune (Florida):

Authorities say Ronald Wade walked into a sheriff’s department in Mississippi to apply for a job as a jailer.

So, after the routine background check – whoa there buddy!

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the 31-year-old Wade was wanted in Florida on a warrant for driving under the influence-manslaughter.

Pace said Wade had been involved in a wreck in Manatee County, but was never arrested on the charge. The initial background check revealed the warrant for his arrest. Deputies arrested Wade on Wednesday.

That’s one tough collar right there. Mr. Wade waived extradition and is heading back to Florida. Here’s the source.

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Why on earth would it matter if a chicken is a “beast” or not? Well, it mattered a great deal to a man in Indiana who was charged with sodomizing a “beast.” Or, as set forth in the opinion:

[Mr. Murray], without benefit of counsel, entered a plea of guilty to a charge by affidavit that he committed the “abominable and detestable crime against nature with a beast …”

Armed with a lawyer, based on the title of the post, you can probably guess what the defense was.

[Mr. Murray] contends that the term “beast” as used in Sec. 10-4221, supra, does not include “fowl” …

This is Indiana – in 1957. How do you think that argument was received? Webster’s Dictionary looked to offer some encouragement.

2. Any four-footed animal, as distinguished from birds, reptiles, fishes and insects.

Hmm. What about definitions 1. and 3.?

1. Any living creature; any animal. 3. An animal; – distinguished from man.

Uh oh. The court also noted that …

Under a statute concerning cruelty to animals, this court has held [in 1887!] that a fowl, i.e., a goose was an animal.

A duck has been held to be an animal under an English statute pertaining to sodomy. Reg. v. Brown (1889).

Said the Supreme Court of Indiana …

In our opinion a chicken is a beast within the meaning of that term as used in Sec. … Judgment affirmed.

The case is Murray v. Indiana, 143 N.E.2d 290 (1957).

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That Chinese cooking oil you brought is probably fine. It’s probably not the product of a certain illegal operation, as reported by chinadaily.com:

Chinese police have arrested 32 suspects for producing and selling illegal cooking oil in a cross-province crackdown, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement Tuesday.

Why is it gross? Well …

More than 100 tonnes of such oil, made from leftovers dredged from gutters behind restaurants, were seized after busting a criminal network spanning 14 provinces, the ministry said.

Tasty! Here’s the source.

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Your mission: theft. You think you’re the only one out there with that mission? A ten-year-old found out the hard way that stealing isn’t such a great idea. Per The Bee News (Buffalo, New York):

Two 10-year-old boys tried to steal a game from a 
Thruway Plaza Drive
business, but tuhe manager sent them on their way. The 
boys were then seen on
the curb outside crying, because one of their bicycles had 
been stolen.

Bad day, but hopefully lessons learned (stealing = bad idea; locking your bike = good idea).

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If everyone just went about their business, we’d all be better off. But the cops would sure be bored. No worries about being bored for some cops in Indiana, as reported by The Chicago Tribune:

The still-unidentified man was discovered wandering along the [Interstate 65] just south of U.S. Highway 30 at about 2:30 p.m. “marching like a drum major” while holding the 35-inch [samurai] sword, state police said in a news release.

The shirtless man moved the sword rhythmically like a baton until Master Trooper Rick Hudson approached, officials said. The man swung defensively at Hudson, but dropped the sword when Hudson ordered him to, authorities said.

So far, so good …

Authorities said the suspect then tried to get into the 2010 Chevrolet SUV until he was ordered to the ground at gunpoint and Merrillville police took him into custody.

Nice job, pal. Just got yourself some more charges.

Once in custody, the man gave authorities different names and addresses, but told Lake County Jail officials that he was “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.”

The charges?

Though his identity hadn’t been verified, authorities charged the man with attempted car jacking, resisting law enforcement and possession of marijuana.

You’ll find the source here.

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You’ll have a hard time believing what this Minnesota man’s fetish is, and that he will be spending a year in jail because of it. Per the Duluth News Tribune:

Christopher Neil Bjerkness is not a rapist, but a Duluth judge lectured him on Wednesday that unless he stops carrying out a bizarre sexual fetish of slashing exercise balls with a knife, he could some day find himself facing an indeterminate civil commitment as a sexual psychopath.

Bjerkness was sentenced in St. Louis County District Court to 21 months in prison, but as part of a plea agreement the sentence was stayed for five years of supervised probation, which includes a one-year sentence at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, where he will enter a sex offender treatment program.

Why jail?

The judge said no one wanted to send him to prison at this time but that his behavior was a violation of privacy and his predilection for the fetish seemed to be escalating.

And after that year in prison?

If he doesn’t change his ways, the judge said, Bjerkness could wind up in prison and potentially face a civil commitment process.

Sexual psychopaths can be civilly committed after their prison sentences when the court determines they still pose a risk to the public. It can be a lifelong commitment.

If you’re wondering why Mr. Bjerkness does this …

In a July interview, [he] told the News Tribune that he couldn’t explain his fetish. He said he suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, bipolar depression and cerebral palsy. That information was later confirmed by his adoptive parents.

Does anyone else think that outpatient therapy would have been appropriate instead of jail?

Bjerkness said his fetish for exercise balls has nothing to do with the people who work or exercise at gyms and he doesn’t believe he is a threat to anyone. He is unemployed, but said he has worked mowing lawns, as a dishwasher and as a telemarketer.

No, this wasn’t his first conviction. In 2005, he was convicted of … breaking into a facility and … damaging inflatable exercise balls.