dumb criminals

Read the latest news stories about dumb criminals on Newser.com

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When Your Getaway Car Is an EV, Charge It First

Georgia police say they busted thieves not far from the crime scene—charging their Tesla

(Newser) - When endeavoring to avoid headlines for criminal idiocy with a green flair, you'd best remember one simple rule: Charge the EV in which you are attempting to flee the scene of your crime. As Fox5 reports, police say two would-be criminal masterminds robbed gaming systems from an unnamed store...

Cops: TikTok Challenge Drove Teens to Act Like Kool-Aid Man

Kids busted for crashing through residents' fences on Long Island

(Newser) - Another day, another stupid TikTok challenge. This time it involves a group of Long Island teens who allegedly decided to emulate the Kool-Aid Man's move of busting through walls —except in their case, they're accused of kicking down local fences. Fox News reports that Suffolk County police...

Cops: Man Took Truck for Unusually Long Test Drive

He was arrested inside an Atlantic City casino, 40 miles away from the dealership

(Newser) - A New Jersey man who apparently gambled on not getting caught took a new pickup truck for a test drive and was arrested at a casino almost 40 miles away. Police in Stafford Township say Jason DeAngelo, 47, took a 2023 white GMC Sierra from a dealership around 11am Saturday...

Cops: Robbery Suspect Fled, Home Alone Moment Ensued

Gainesville police say slipped on a patch of ice as he was trying to flee a botched robbery

(Newser) - An alleged armed robber was foiled in the early hours of Christmas Day in what police say was like a scene from Home Alone. Police say Luis Sajbocho-Ordonez concealed himself behind a business in Gainesville, Georgia, which has been experiencing unusually low temperatures, and demanded cash from an employee who...

Revenge-Seeking Arsonist Set Fire to Wrong House: Cops

Christie Louise Jones thought she was at an ex-boyfriend's, police say

(Newser) - A woman who intended to burn down her ex-lover's home failed to confirm the address and ended up setting fire to a stranger's abode, according to police in North Carolina. The result is that the alleged arsonist can't even claim the sweet taste of revenge as she...

Cops: Burglar Returned to Crime Scene for His Keys

Man broke into doughnut company's corporate offices in California

(Newser) - A Northern California burglar returned to the scene of the crime this weekend after he forgot his keys inside a doughnut company's corporate office. The thief stole some petty cash from Johnny Doughnuts' office in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday night, police said. In another twist, he...

Bad Time to Capsize Kayak: When Fleeing From Police

Ala. theft suspect had to swim to shore, where police were waiting: report

(Newser) - An alleged thief in Alabama tried to evade police by hopping in a river kayak, only to capsize shortly after, authorities say. Numerous people had called Hokes Bluff Police on Friday to report the man, who was allegedly seen wandering through backyards and stealing a lawn mower and leaf blower,...

2 Arrested in Theft of Sheriff's Speed-Warning Trailer

'It appears they were trying to get the batteries to sell the batteries,' sheriff says

(Newser) - Two Alabama men have been arrested over an audacious, but extremely ill-advised, theft. The Russell County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post Tuesday that Gabriel Mendoza Garcia and Steve Gerome Spann were arrested Monday for allegedly stealing a speed-warning trailer that belongs to the sheriff's office. "...

Man Accused of Creative Scheme to Steal Audi
Really Want
an Audi?
Don't Do This
Apr 13, 2022 7:32 AM CDT

Really Want an Audi? Don't Do This

Randy Cantwell arrested for impersonating federal marshal, trying to steal car in Tulsa, Okla.

(Newser) - A man in Oklahoma apparently had his heart set on an Audi, but his alleged scheme to acquire one didn't work out the way it was supposed to. KTUL reports that Randy Cantwell was arrested in Tulsa after police say he showed up at a car dealership in Tulsa,...

California Cops Chase Stolen Party Bus

40-foot bus was pursued from San Diego to northern Los Angeles County

(Newser) - The California Highway Patrol chased a stolen party bus across southern California Tuesday before it slammed into a sedan north of Los Angeles. Top Dog Limo Bus owner Susie Leitzke tells KTLA that the 40-foot vehicle was stolen in San Diego Tuesday morning when a person jumped in while the...

Cops: Bank Robber Made Deposit in ATM Outside

He was a Wells Fargo robber, and also a customer

(Newser) - Police in Delaware say a man who robbed a Wilmington bank on Saturday didn't keep the cash for long—after fleeing the Wells Fargo branch, he paused to make a deposit in the ATM outside. Police say McRoberts Williams, a 44-year-old California resident, handed a note to a teller...

Fake Hitman Website Fools Woman, Who Is Headed to Jail

Site's owner contacted Michigan police

(Newser) - A real woman tried to hire a hitman on a fake website. Wendy Lynn Wein, 52, found Rent-A-Hitman online and filled out a form asking for help killing her ex-husband. Unfortunately for Wein and perhaps fortunately for her ex, that site is owned not by a hitman but computer professional...

Man Steals Reporter's Phone, Has Face Seen by Millions

Egyptian man was arrested hours later

(Newser) - A Cairo-area reporter had his phone grabbed from his hands by a thief on a motorbike, but it wasn't exactly the perfect crime—the reporter had been livestreaming a broadcast at the time, and the thief's face was seen by millions. The Youm7 news site says its reporter,...

Woman Allegedly Made Bomb Threats to Get Boyfriend Off Work

Police say Kayla Blake told them she wanted to spend more time with him

(Newser) - A Maine woman who wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend came up with an incredibly stupid plan to get him off work, police say. Kayla Blake, 33, allegedly called in two bomb threats to her beau's workplace, the Portland Press Herald reports. Officials say the threats to...

Man Arrested After Breaking Into a Jail

California man said he was fleeing a man with a gun

(Newser) - Guards usually don’t have to watch for people breaking into a jail, so it’s maybe only a little surprising that they didn’t notice the man climbing over two fences then scrambling up to a second floor door. An alarm went off in the Maple Street Correctional Center...

Man Escapes Hotel Quarantine—for 8 Hours

A bed-sheet rope got him out

(Newser) - An Australian man ordered to spend the night in a quarantine hotel made a temporary escape early Tuesday down a rope made from bed sheets, which he dangled from his fourth-floor window, police said. The 39-year-old had arrived in Perth, Western Australia, from the Queensland capital of Brisbane on a...

'World's Unluckiest Burglars' Called Cops on Themselves

UK police say it was an easy arrest

(Newser) - Police in Britain say they received a "suspicious call" related to a burglary on Wednesday, one that came from the unsuspecting burglars themselves. Police say one of two men later arrested had butt-dialed 999, the emergency number in the UK, allowing authorities to listen in as the crime was...

Cops: Kohl's Theft Foiled by Dead Battery in Getaway Car

Whoops

(Newser) - Two apparent would-be thieves probably thought they had the perfect plan—one would run into their local Kohl's, grab a bunch of merch, and run back out to the parking lot, where the second guy would be waiting with the getaway car. What the suspects likely didn't count...

Cops to Suspect: You Forgot Your Winning Lottery Ticket

He was invited to pick it up at sheriff's office

(Newser) - A suspect in Georgia left his good luck behind when he abandoned a winning lottery ticket while fleeing sheriff's deputies.The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office says the man had a Georgia Lottery scratch game card worth $100 when he ran away during a traffic stop on Interstate 75...

He Had a Winning Scratch-Off. There Was One Problem

Police in Clearwater, Fla., say Herbert McClellan stole the lottery ticket before trying to cash it in

(Newser) - "So much for being lucky at the lottery." That's how the Clearwater Police Department in Florida is describing the unfortunate plight of 27-year-old Herbert McClellan, who's accused of swiping more than a dozen scratch-off lottery tickets from a local Speedway, then trying to cash in a...

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