38-year-old David Voelkert thought he was chatting with a cute 17-year-old girl on Facebook about his plans to track down and kill his ex-wife. Turned out to be his ex-wife.
20-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit" who became famous for stealing airplanes, boats and other rich people toys while shoeless, has been sitting in jail since his arrest in the Bahamas last July. The Bandit is a prime suspect in over 70 crimes. Originally a plea deal was being hashed out that would give all proceeds from book or movie deals to his victims and their insurance companies. But one of the Bandit's lawyers, John Henry Browne says prosecutors are no longer into the idea. Speaking to the AP, Browne said:
Kimberly "Butterbean" Meadows is a great mom, in some ways. After her son was busted for allegedly attempting to deal some Vicodin—a plot that failed when he accidentally texted his plan to cops—she tried to take responsibility for the botched sale. Sadly, her plan backfired.
What would you do if a man holding a dead weasel burst into your apartment? By all accounts, one resident of Hoquiam, Wash. played it cool when confronted with that very problem:
Not good rapper Ja Rule, né Jeffrey Atkins, is set to turn himself in today, in order to begin serving a two year jail sentence for attempted criminal possession of a weapon. Back in 2007, New York "police found a loaded semi-automatic firearm — with the serial number scratched off — hidden in the backseat of his luxury Maybach sedan" on the Upper West Side. [CNN]
Fully a quarter of illicit hackers may have been turned into federal informants, the publisher of a prominent cybercrime journal estimates. It turns out that pasty skinny computer nerds don't hold up well to police pressure. Go figure.
A Savannah, Georgia store owner survived a Sunday morning robbery attempt thanks to the hefty religious medallions he wore around his chest, which proved very useful in deflecting bullets.
A San Diego man named Donny Love Sr. was convicted today in federal court for concocting a courthouse bombing plot that involved asking his "on-again, off-again" girlfriend to bomb the courthouse for him, then trying to turn her into the FBI. Donny Love, you know nothing about love.
In May, Texas police responding to a traffic accident came upon a dying 59-year-old man behind the wheel of a pickup truck. Heavily tattooed, and carrying several contradictory identification cards, the driver had apparently swerved into a concrete barrier for some unknown reason; he died later that night, just as authorities realized who he was: Frank Roch, allegedly the "top general" of the "largest faction of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas."
There have been several Bernie Madoff auctions over the last couple of years, but one over the weekend in Florida was perhaps the creepiest. Items from Madoff's Palm Beach estate included leather chairs, books and a Rolex that brought in around $400,000. Someone even spent $200 on 14 pairs of Madoff's boxer shorts.
Tribecan patio decorator and ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be arraigned Monday on charges related to his alleged attempt to rape a hotel maid, say reports. Sources believe he'll claim that "police irregularities" messed up his arrest. Speaking of that, did you know he was "arrested like a chicken thief?"
Jason West of Vernal, Utah, allegedly annoyed his dentist very, very much by trying to pay an outstanding $25 bill with 2,500 pennies. The dentist—who's apparently a coin snob—ended up calling the cops, and now West is being charged with disorderly conduct.
If you're a lawbreaking type who also likes cockfighting, pool parties, and grinding, you should consider moving your criminal enterprise to Venezuela. Down there, if you get convicted for dealing drugs or whatever other crime it is you're in the habit of committing, you could end up hanging out ("being incarcerated") at the San Antonio prison on Margarita Island in Porlamar. Supposedly it's a real blast.
Following the sentencing of Philip and Nancy Garrido for the kidnapping, imprisonment and rape of Jaycee Dugard, whom they had abducted at 11 and held captive for 18 years, Judge Douglas Phimister allowed the release of an abridged version Dugard's grand jury testimony, described the events of her kidnapping and the conditions in which she was held hostage.
