Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[LWM]

NM Goodwill collection box turns up inert grenade (September 3rd, 2010 @ 11:53am)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Just in case it wasn't clear: Weapons and drugs don't make good charitable donations.

Albuquerque police briefly evacuated a Goodwill store Thursday after someone left a pistol, ammunition, a grenade and some marijuana in a collection box.

Police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby says the police bomb squad took the grenade away for demolition after determining tit was a World War II-style inert- or inactive- grenade.

The police report did not list what type of guns were in the box or the quantity of marijuana.

The same thing happened to me when I was working for The Salvation Army, someone donated a "bouncing betty" and we called the Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Squad who ended up calling the military and a crew flew up from San Diego and blew it up in our parking lot.

[LWM]

Montana teen accidentally texts sheriff to buy pot (September 3rd, 2010 @ 11:43am)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - General rule of thumb: when looking to buy marijuana, don't text the sheriff. Authorities said a Helena teen hit a wrong number and inadvertently sent a message to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton, saying "Hey Dawg, do you have a $20 I can buy right now?"

A detective pretending to be the dealer organized a meeting at a time when the boy knew he and another teen would be at a particular store.

The detective spotted two teenage boys and one of the boy's fathers- who was unaware of what was going on- at the store. He called the phone number three times to make sure he had the right person. Dutton said when the detective showed the teens his badge, one of the boys fainted.

No citations were issued after the parents of the boys, who were 15 and 16, got involved.

[LWM]

Conn. driver falls from car on I-95, Dodge goes on (September 3rd, 2010 @ 10:32am)

DARIEN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut State Police say a man fell out of his car onto Interstate 95 and watched his vehicle drive on for about two-tenths of a mile before it crashed into a pole. Troopers said they're not sure why 51-year-old Robert Craig of Killingworth fell out of his 2006 Dodge Charger late Tuesday morning in Darien near Exit 10. Police said Craig was treated for minor injuries at Stamford Hospital.

State police said Craig fell onto the highway but wasn't struck by any vehicles. They say other motorists stopped to help him and get him to safety.

Troopers said the car continued down the highway before striking a light pole and metal guardrail on the right shoulder.

The accident remains under investigation.

[LWM]

Cell phone left in Ala. burglary leads to arrest (September 1st, 2010 @ 12:21pm)

RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Police investigating a home burglary in Russellville found a surprising clue- a cell phone that got left behind. Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said the phone was left near where a computer was taken in the weekend burglary. Investigators began calling some of the phone numbers and determined the phone belonged to a 19-year-old who was on probation for a previous burglary.

The prosecutor said police also got surveillance video from the Wal-Mart in Russellville that shows the suspect cashing in coins believed to have been taken during the burglary.

Rushing said, "It helps when you've got stupid criminals."

The cell phone's owner, Tyler Blake Garrison, was questioned and charged with burglary. He remained in jail Wednesday. Garrison's attorney, Jeff Barksdale, declined comment.

[LWM]

Cell phone victim helps deputies recover property (August 31st, 2010 @ 12:51pm)

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - A man who bought a cell phone online, only to find it was the same one that was stolen from his car, tipped off California sheriff's deputies, who arrested a man they believe broke into dozens of vehices.

Deputies arrested 28-year-old Neil Hefner and recovered 163 cell phones, along with computers, wallets, gift cards and rare coins. He was booked for investigation of burglary.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John Benedict says one victim was looking for a new phone on Craigslist, found one that looked like his old one and bought it.

When it arrived, many of his phone numbers were still programmed into it so he called deputies. Benedict says the seller's return address was on the package.

[Adondo]

Xbox blocks W.Va. gamer over town's name: Fort Gay

Sep 8, 1:46 PM (ET)

By VICKI SMITH


MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Microsoft Corp. and the chief rules enforcer for Xbox Live are apologizing to a small West Virginia town and a 26-year-old gamer accused of violating the online gaming service's code of conduct by publicly declaring he's from Fort Gay - a name the company considered offensive.

The town's name is real. But when Josh Moore tried to tell Seattle-based Microsoft and the enforcement team at Xbox Live, they wouldn't take his word for it. Or Google it. Or check the U.S. Postal Service website for a ZIP code.

Instead, they suspended his gaming privileges for a few days until Moore could convince them the location in his profile, "fort gay WV," wasn't a joke or a slur: It's an actual community of about 800 in Wayne County, along West Virginia's western border with Kentucky.

"At first I thought, 'Wow, somebody's thinking I live in the gayest town in West Virginia or something.' I was mad. ... It makes me feel like they hate gay people," said Moore, an unemployed factory worker who plays shooters like Medal of Honor, Call of Duty and Ghost Recon under the gamertag Joshanboo.

"I'm not even gay, and it makes me feel like they were discriminating," said Moore, who missed a key Search and Destroy competition because of last week's brief suspension. His team lost.

Angry and incredulous, Moore contacted customer service.

"I figured, I'll explain to them, 'Look in my account. Fort Gay is a real place,'" Moore reasoned. But the employee was unreceptive, warning Moore if he put Fort Gay back in his profile, Xbox Live would cancel his account and keep his $12 monthly membership fee, which he'd paid in advance for two years.

"I told him, Google it - 25514!" Moore said, offering up the town's ZIP code. "He said, 'I can't help you.'"

Mayor David Thompson also tried to intervene, but with little success. He told television station WSAZ, which first reported the dispute, that he was informed the city's name didn't matter. The word "gay," he was told, was inappropriate in any context.

"It was so inappropriate for them, they wouldn't even say the word," Thompson told the AP Wednesday. "They said, 'that word.' It's beyond me. That's the name of our town! It's appalling. It's a slap in our face."

Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live blamed miscommunication.

"Someone took the phrase 'fort gay WV' and believed that the individual who had that was trying to offend, or trying to use it in a pejorative manner," Toulouse said. "Unfortunately, one of my people agreed with that. ... When it was brought to my attention, we did revoke the suspension."

Complaints, he notes, come to agents with no contextual information, including who the suspected offender is or what games they play. The agent simply looks at the language and determines whether it complies with policy.

The Xbox Live player's contract says users cannot "create a gamertag, avatar or use text in other profile fields that may offend other members," and lists potentially dangerous topics such as drug use, hate speech and racial, ethnic or religious slurs.

Fort Gay has been a community since 1789, when 11 people tried to establish a settlement at the junction of the Tug and Big Sandy rivers, across from what is now Louisa, Ky. It was incorporated as Cassville in 1875 but was simultaneously known as Fort Gay until 1932, when town leaders changed it to the latter for good.

Toulouse said he will contact Moore and apologize. Staying ahead of slang and policing Xbox for offensive is a constant challenge, he said.

"In this very, very specific case, a mistake was made," he said, "and we're going to make it right."

[Adondo]

95 snakes found in burst bag at Malaysia airport

Sep 3, 12:23 AM (ET)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his bag bursting with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyer belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, an official said Friday.

Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, 52, who was previously convicted of wildlife trafficking in the United States, was charged Wednesday in a district court with exporting the endangered boas without a permit, said Shamsuddin Osman, an official with Malaysia's wildlife department.

The offense that carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine, Shamsuddin said.

Wong was arrested Aug. 26 after airport authorities found the boa constrictors, together with a few other snakes and a turtle, when his bag broke open on a luggage conveyor belt. Wong was transiting from Malaysia's northern Penang state to Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

The court will reconvene Monday pending Wong's appointment of a lawyer, Shamsuddin said.

He said the criminal charges involve the boas only, because the other animals are not listed as endangered. All of the animals are alive and under the care of wildlife officials, Shamsuddin said.

A decade ago, Wong was sentenced to almost six years in prison in the U.S. for running an animal-smuggling ring that prosecutors said imported and sold more than 300 protected reptiles native to Asia and Africa from 1996 until Wong's arrest in Mexico in 1998. It is unclear whether he served the full term.

Activists say the illegal wildlife trade used to flourish in Malaysia until the country recently stepped up efforts to crack down on it. In July, Parliament passed a new law to punish poachers and smugglers more severely, but the act has not yet taken effect.

[LWM]

Bolivian cops detain woman who tried to mail mummy (October 26th, 2010 @ 12:23pm)

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - Bolivian police said they've detained a woman who tried to mail a mummy to France. Police Col. Adolfo Cardenas said Tuesday a Peruvian woman tried to send the human remains from a post office in the town of Desaguadero along the Peruvian border. The destination was in the French city of Compiegne.

The mummy was discovered in a routine check of the package.

Cardenas said he doesn't know how old the mummy is, but says it was well-preserved and may have been from the Inca culture.

[LWM]

North Dakota police arrest man in urinal shooting (October 26th, 2010 @ 12:20pm)

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) - Police in Williston arrested a man who allegedly shot a urinal in a local bar. Authorities say the 21-year-old man fired a shot from a .45-caliber handgun into a urinal in the bathroom at Whispers. Damage was estimated at $500.

The Williston Herald reported that the man was arrested on charges of vandalism and discharging a firearm within city limits.

[LWM]

Victim takes fake weapon and beats would-be robber (October 25th, 2010 @ 6:25pm)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police said a man using a fake gun in a San Fernando Valley stickup was beaten with the prop weapon when the would-be victim took it from him. Los Angeles police Sgt. Jeff Collado told City News Service on Thursday that the attempted robbery suspect was bloodied and he was hospitalized. His name hasn't been released.

The sergeant said the man confronted the would-be victim at 11:40 p.m. Wednesday in the valley's Winnetka area 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The intended victim, whose name is being withheld, disarmed him and used the fake weapon to beat him.