Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[LWM]

Pa. man fined $600 for trash he says is garden aid (June 30th, 2010 @ 12:24pm)

SCOTTDALE, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania man said he'll appeal a $600 fine for keeping hundreds of full trash bags on his property that he claims are used to insulate his organic vegetable garden. Officials in Scottdale, said the bags littering Thomas Zeller's property, along with used tires, are trash and a district judge agreed Tuesday.

The 57-year-old Zeller said he fills the trash bags with leaves to insulate the ground on which he claims to grow 350 varieties of medicinal herbs and numerous vegetables. He estimates the garden produces 3,400 pounds of organic vegetables annually.

The same judge gave Zeller more than 30 days to clean up the bags, and fined him because borough officials said many of the bags remain on his property.

He said the borough is "making me an international criminal."

[LWM]

Man arrested for entering house, taking shower (June 30th, 2010 @ 5:08pm)

ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a man accused of breaking into a home near Roswell High School at around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and taking a shower. Roswell police spokesman Lt. James McGee said neighbors tell police they saw a man entering the home.

Police said the homeowner then arrived and found someone taking a shower. McGee said the woman talked to the man who was in the shower, then came back out of the house.

She called police who got the man out.

McGee said the unidentified man insisted he was the "Duke of Germany" before he was taken to jail in north Fulton County.

[LWM]

Mother charged for phony letter about son's job (June 30th, 2010 @ 5:10pm)

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) - A western Kentucky woman's attempt to get her son out of jail on bond came undone over a misspelling. The Paducah Sun reported court officials became suspicious when the 44-year-old mother presented a letter allegedly from Wagner Moving and Storage. The woman knew bond for her son would be lowered if he had written proof of a job.

But the company name was misspelled and when investigators checked, they learned the woman had asked for such a letter from the company and had been denied.

She was jailed Tuesday on a charge of evidence tampering. Her son was charged with receiving stolen property.

They both were in jail Wednesday in lieu of cash bonds.

[LWM]

Police say pair stole nearly $2K from Pa. jail (June 30th, 2010 @ 5:12pm)

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A couple were charged with stealing nearly $2,000 from a central Pennsylvania jail by using a routing number from a check the woman got from the jail after her release last year. Police said a 61-year-old man and his 51-year-old wife used the routing number to use Blair County jail account to pay their utility bills and transfer $179 to the man's bank account.

The wife got the routing number when she received a check for $6.95 to reimburse her for money remaining in her inmate expense account after her release on unrelated theft charges in October. The couple pleaded not guilty and face a preliminary hearing July 13.

County officials said they've changed the way its inmate account is handled to prevent future abuses.

[LWM]

Men face assault charges after dog doo dispute (June 30th, 2010 @ 6:20pm)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Three men face assault charges after they allegedly attacked an off-duty Harrisburg police officer in a dispute over dog waste. Police said brothers Matthew Stauffer, 33, and Daniel Stauffer, 31, attacked police Officer John Doll earlier this month.

Investigators said the Stauffers confronted Doll about his dog's waste, even though Doll had already bagged it. According to court documents, Doll identified himself as an off-duty officer and got both men to the ground before a third man attacked him.

Police charged the Stauffers and 25-year-old Noah Coburn with aggravated assault, conspiracy and public drunkeness. All three men are free on bail.

Phone listings for all three suspects were not available Wednesday.

[LWM]

Police seek mischief maker dressed as leprechaun (June 30th, 2010 @ 8:29pm)

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Police responding to reports of a man leaping between cars in a Colorado supermarket parking lot didn't need a detailed description of the suspect.

Boulder Police Sgt. Fred Gerhardt says witnesses on Wednesday reported a man was dressed as a leprechaun and pretending to shoot at people with his fingers.

Witnesses told police the man may have made obscene gestures.

Gerhardt says they likely called police because the man "was acting bizarre."

Officers did not find anyone matching the description of the leprechaun.

Gerhardt says this is the first time Boulder police have received a complaint about a leprechaun.

[LWM]

La. deputies say man planned to eat park duck (June 30th, 2010 @ 12:21pm)

CHALMETTE, La. (AP) - A St. Bernard Parish man was arrested Monday after sheriff's deputies said he stole a duck from a public park and planned to eat it. The Sheriff's Office said the man, 38, was booked with theft of an animal after someone saw him take a muscovie duck from Sidney Torres Park. A deputy found the man at his home with a duck inside a bucket in his van, authorities said.

Deputies said the man told them he intended to eat the animal.

The duck was returned to the park and set free.

[Adondo]

Maggots force plane back to gate in Atlanta

Jun. 30, 2010 02:15 PM
Associated Press

ATLANTA - Maggots falling from an overhead bin from a spoiled container of meat forced a US Airways flight to return to the gate so the bin could be cleaned.

Passenger Donna Adamo said she noticed a couple of flies on the Monday flight when she got to her seat but didn't think much of it. Then, as the plane was taxiing, she heard a passenger behind her causing a commotion and refusing to take her seat.

"Then I heard the word maggot' and that kind of got everybody creeped out," she said. "All of a sudden, I felt somebody flick the back of my hair and on the front of me came a maggot, which I flicked off me."

A passenger had the container in a carry-on bag and brought it on Monday's flight heading from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., said US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher. The pilot announced that they were returning to the gate because of a "minor emergency on board" and the flight attendants told everyone to sit down and be calm, Adamo said.

"I felt like they were crawling all over me because it only takes one maggot to upset your world," she said. "And as they're telling us to stay calm and seated, I see a maggot looking back at me and I'm thinking, These are anaerobic, flesh-eating larvae that the flight attendants don't have to sit with.'"

A shaky cell phone video shot by Adamo as passengers deplaned shows a small white maggot wriggling across a seat.

Once the plane returned to the gate, the passengers were asked to get off, and a crew boarded to clean up the mess, Lehmacher said. The flight then continued on to Charlotte, where the plane was taken out of service and fumigated "out of an abundance of caution."

The passenger who brought the spoiled meat on board did not get back on the plane and was put on another flight, Lehmacher said. Other passengers were told their connecting flights in Charlotte would be held for them, said Adamo, who was traveling home to Syracuse, N.Y., and made her connection.

It's unclear why the spoiled meat was brought on the plane, and Adamo said she didn't notice a foul smell at any point.

"You can buy meat anywhere," Adamo said. "I don't know what special piece of meat was in Atlanta that needed to get to Charlotte, but it affected hundreds, if not thousands ... of passengers, and is a health risk."

[Adondo]

by Justin Burton, KGW news staff

kgw.com

Posted on July 9, 2010 at 11:38 PM

Updated Saturday, Jul 10 at 9:20 AM

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A car full of people dressed as zombies crashed on Interstate 84 near downtown Portland on Friday, causing initial confusion by people who witnessed the crash.

Portland Police said the car was swerving in the eastbound lanes of the freeway just east of the Lloyd District just after 9:30 p.m. when it rolled over and crashed onto its top.

Emergency crews took five victims from the crash to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said that in their investigation they learned that the people inside the car were dressed as zombie costumes and they were headed to a party at the time of the crash.

Sgt. Greg Stewart said people who witnessed the crash initially thought the victims' injuries were much more serious, because of the zombie costumes.

"We're glad that everyone is alive, despite being 'undead'," Sgt. Stewart said, referring to the costumes.

While everyone in the car was taken to the hospital, Stewart said crews are investigating the possibility that more people were in the car at the time of the crash but fled the scene on foot.

The crash halted traffic in the eastbound lanes for about an hour, reducing travel to just one lane. All eastbound lanes were opened at around 11 p.m.

[Adondo]

NM man set on fire after losing drinking bet

Jul 10, 6:05 PM (ET)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A 47-year-old man's friends set his prosthetic leg on fire after he lost a drinking bet, causing him to suffer severe burns to his buttocks and lower back. Dona Ana County sheriff's deputies found the man naked on the side of U.S. Route 70 with his prosthetic leg in flames. Deputies learned that the man and his friends were drinking Monday and bet that whoever drank the least would be set on fire.

The man told investigators that at six beers, he drank the least, and agreed to let his friends set him on fire.

He said his friends ignited his prosthetic leg, and the flames spread to his body.

The sheriff's office said the man took his clothes off because of the pain and his friends decided to take him to the hospital. But they got nervous and instead dropped him off on the side of the highway.

The man was taken to a Texas burn treatment center.