Articles Posted in Odd Cases

Peeping Tom Dennis Sanders did his time (for secretly videotaping a woman and a teenage girl in their bedrooms and bathrooms), now he wants his porn back! When he was busted in San Rafael, California in 2002, in addition to seizing the illegal materials, police also seized 500 legal porn videos, and 250 legal magazines. Sanders, who was just released, asked for his collection back. Nope, said the police. So Sanders lawyered up, and sued the city. According to his lawyer, the videotapes alone are worth more than $10,000. Sweet fancy moses! The Judge said he would have to review each tape in Chambers before making a decision. Okay, I made that last part up. The matter is currently pending in the Marin County Superior Court.

Kathleen Jennings, age 19, is getting hosed. This young lady is no reprobate. She is a Cub Scout leader who works with disabled children! And she is an A student, and is studying math at Manchester University. She’s never been in any trouble before. She is now, and here’s why: While riding the train, she put the tips of her flip-flops on the unoccupied seat in front of her. Said the big bad railway man: “Are you comfortable?” She immediately put her feet down. Not good enough.

Ms. Jennings was charged with “wilfully interfering with the comfort or convenience” of other rail passengers. Actually, I’d say that’s what the railway man did. Just to reinforce the kind of young lady we’re talking about, this was her reaction upon being charged:

I was crying my eyes out. I am not the sort of person who would do anything wrong. I have never been in trouble before and, working with children, I do not want a criminal record.

She will have to pay an attorney, and could face a fine of up to £150 ($300 US). Brilliant!

And Ms. Jennings is not alone. Since the “no feet on the seats” policy was implemented in February 2007, the company operating the trains, Merseyrail, has taken about 250 people to court! Mercy! (You can read more here.) And if you want to read about another scofflaw who was busted under this 120-year-old rule, click here.

Kuo Rong-hui has done a lot of jail time. There’s only one problem – he’s not a criminal! So why would Kuo plead guilty, numerous times, to all these crimes? And then serve jail time for the crimes? In two words, money and hemophelia. See, Kuo would take the fall for payoffs from the real perps. Then, once in jail, he would reveal that he is a hemopheliac, and the authorities would release him! Seems the prisons didn’t want to pay the $1,800 in meds required to treat Kuo’s hemophelia.

The scheme unraveled when Kuo tried to take the hit for a co-defendant, and the Judge became suspicious. Interesting career path, huh? You can read more here.

This poor woman, Philly family court Judge Lisa Richette, is really having a tough time. At right is her son, Lawrence Richette, who was arrested for assaulting his 78-year-old mother. Yup, that’s Lawrence on the right there, letting it all hang out. Said Mr. Richette: “This is what I think of TV news.”

As for Judge Richette, here are a few other incidents she’s been on the receiving end of:

While sitting in her car last August, she was punched by a woman who said the Judge hit her vehicle (which Judge Richette denied).

A purse snatcher punched her and knoced her down in January 2005.

She was beaten and robbed in February 1987.

Damn, if it weren’t for bad luck …..

Hawaiian mom Ijeva Matavele had not been pleased when her 14-year-old daughter failed 2 classes. The girl agreed to get tutoring, and things … did not improve. As reported in the Honolulu Advertiser by Ken Kobayashi:

The daughter… skipped tutoring classes and hung out with friends. On the day her report card was due, the daughter — even though she was reminded by the mother to bring it home — said she forgot it at school, but eventually disclosed her grades included four C’s, one D and one incomplete.

When the mother demanded to know why the grades hadn’t improved, the daughter refused to answer. The mother then grabbed a plastic backpack containing a school folder and jacket and hit the daughter on the left arm as the girl tried to block the blow.

The daughter disclosed she had not been going to tutoring. When the mother demanded to know where she had gone instead, the girl refused to answer, prompting the mother to hit her with a plastic hanger about five times.

When the girl said she had been hanging out with friends, the mother felt deceived, got a small car brush and hit the daughter on the top of the left hand and on the knuckles with a plastic handle of a tool.

Ms. Matavele was charged with child abuse. So what happened?

Continue reading →

Lindsay Smith, a senior banker in the UK, was accused of cheating during a golf match, and was suspended from the Nairn Golf Club for a year. Of course, a decision of such tremendous importance was not made lightly. Evidence was presented to the appropriate committee at The Club. Declining to appear in person, Mr. Smith instead presented his side – that is, HIS LAWYER DID, in writing.

In an attempt to clear his name, which instead smeared it around the world, Mr. Smith took his suspension to court, claiming that it breached “the rules of natural justice.” Cruel, cruel world. The court ruled that proper procedures were followed. Case closed. Oh, and Mr. Smith has been accused of cheating in a similar fashion twice before (no, not the hand wedge, but after marking his ball on the green, placing it closer to the hole than it had been). He came this close from losing his job, too. That would have given him plenty of time to practice his putting. You’ll find the rest of the story here.

So, back in 2001, Canadian Waddah Mustapha saw a fly in a bottle of water THAT HE DID NOT DRINK FROM. Nevertheless, Mustapha claimed that he was so traumatized by the event that:

The fear of flies he developed killed his sex life.

He has nightmares about flies.