weird crimes

Read odd news stories and other latest weird crimes news from around the world on Newser.com

Stories 261 - 280 | << Prev   Next >>

Sheriff: Longtime Worker Ran Illegal Winery in Sewage Plant

Allen Maurice Stiefel has been an employee at the wastewater treatment plant for 15 years

(Newser) - We're guessing this wine's terroir wasn't the most pleasant. Alabama officials on Thursday uncovered an illegal winery run out of a sewage treatment plant in Rainsville—and on Friday arrested one of the plant's four workers. The New York Times reports 62-year-old Allen Maurice Stiefel, a...

Illegal Winery Discovered at Unlikely Spot

Cops busted it at a municipal sewage plant in Alabama

(Newser) - Sheriff's officials say they've busted an illegal winery that was operating at a municipal sewage plant in a small Alabama town. The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that it received an anonymous tip about an alcohol operation at a municipal building in the town...

Man's Across-the-Sea Quest to See Girlfriend Ends Poorly

Dale Mclaughlan didn't manage to evade COVID-minded authorities on the Isle of Man

(Newser) - True love will set you free—unless you're Dale Mclaughlan. The Scotsman's apparent determination to see his girlfriend, who lives between England and Ireland on the Isle of Man, led to quite the Friday voyage, per court documents: That morning he took his first ever Jet Ski ride—...

Cops: Robber's Weapon of Choice Was a Needle

Massachusetts woman claimed needle was infected with AIDS, say police

(Newser) - Police say a woman managed to rob a convenience store with a needle she claimed was infected with AIDS before leading officers on a car chase, reports MassLive . It remains unclear whether the needle was actually infected. Raynham Police responded to a convenience store about 6pm Monday after reports that...

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: Mayor Busted With Crack Cocaine After Chase

Tim Currier threw a gram out the window of his car, sheriff's office says

(Newser) - If politicians are involved in a chase, it usually has to do with votes or polling and not the cops, but the latter is the apparent plight of a small-town upstate New York mayor busted in an undercover sting. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office says it arrested 55-year-old...

Police Use Kids' Sketches in Hunt for Rogue Driver

6-year-olds witnessed accident in Hamm, Germany

(Newser) - A road accident in Hamm, Germany, has produced some memorable sketches by witnesses. Those witnesses just happened to be 6-year-old children who were walking to school, reports the BBC . The kids saw a car slam into and damage a road barrier before leaving the scene, per RTE . The children continued...

Odd Theft in Wisconsin: a Pine Tree
Police Investigate
an Unusual Theft
Nov 12, 2020 1:10 PM CST

Police Investigate an Unusual Theft

Pine tree is stolen from Wisconsin arboretum

(Newser) - Police are, ahem, stumped by the theft of a rare pine tree from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, per the AP . The 25-foot Algonquin Pillar Swiss Mountain pine was cut down (not dug up) sometime between Nov. 5 and Nov. 9, University of Wisconsin-Madison police said Thursday. The stolen tree...

Yellowstone Ranger Busts Man Cooking Chickens in Hot Spring

Park officials say the Idaho visitor has been banned for 2 years

(Newser) - Although the pandemic limited many activities over the summer, at least people could partake in quiet outdoor activities, like having small, socially distanced barbecues. An Idaho man, however, has been barred from Yellowstone National Park after he picked the wrong place for his cookout. A park spokeswoman tells East Idaho...

Cops Not Impressed With Driver's Snowmobile Idea

Unusual traffic stop made in Wisconsin

(Newser) - The Wisconsin State Patrol had a little advice for a guy who transported a snowmobile by strapping it to the roof of his Toyota Corolla: Bad idea. A trooper pulled over the driver on Highway 63 in northwestern Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon after seeing the snowmobile perched sideways on top...

In a Dine-and-Dash, the 'Dash' Is Very Important

Cops says woman tried to escape in restaurant ceiling, fell to ground in front of officers

(Newser) - Police in British Columbia say they ended up making a surprisingly easy capture in a dine-and-dash incident. When officers from the Burnaby Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to a local restaurant, a manager told them a customer had climbed into the ceiling in the bathroom and was attempting to escape...

From a High-Rise Window, a 'Heavenly Rain of Bank Notes'

Cops in Chongqing, China, say man in 'trance' from drugs was throwing cash out of 30th-floor window

(Newser) - Commuters in China got an unexpected windfall earlier this month, though not everyone leaves this story with a happy ending. Police in Chongqing, located in the southwestern part of the country, said that traffic was brought to a halt on Oct. 17 when a man on the 30th floor of...

Trump-Loving Brother Calls Cops on Biden-Loving Sister

Because that 49-year-old sister allegedly stole his Trump car magnet

(Newser) - She says her brother is "brainwashed." He says his sister is a thief. At the heart of the matter? Election 2020, naturally. The Omaha World-Herald reports on a family dispute out of Omaha that ended up involving police. A 52-year-old President Trump supporter says he was looking outside...

Alleged Recipient of Bogus COVID Loan Made Flashy Buys

A 6-figure Mercedes and brand-new pickup were telltale clues for the feds

(Newser) - Bold move, Florida man. So say the feds, who accuse a Dade City man of receiving a federal COVID-19 loan under false pretenses and using the money to buy himself a $106,000 Mercedes and a Ford F-250 pickup worth $66,000, reports TampaBay.com . In a release , the Department...

Man Uses Most Unusual Way to Take Down Biden Signs: Cops

James Blight accused of stealing bulldozer, taking signs in mostly Black Fla. neighborhood

(Newser) - If you're a resident in Haines City, Fla., whose Joe Biden yard signs remain intact, consider yourself lucky that the bulldozer didn't end up at your place. That bulldozer, police say, was stolen from a local construction site by a young white man and used to terrorize a...

ATM Customer Makes Startling Discovery at Bank

Nature's masked 'bandits' had broken in to a California Chase and were wreaking havoc

(Newser) - Some faces were made for radio; others were made for breaking into banks. CBS San Francisco and KPIX report that a customer was using an ATM outside a Chase bank in Redwood City, Calif., around 7:30am Tuesday morning when he saw what he thought was a stuffed animal on...

Alleged Cemetery Vandal Gives Cops Bizarre Reason

Danny Frazier says he was attempting to resurrect grandmother in Tennessee

(Newser) - Police in Tennessee say a man caused almost $30,000 in damage to a cemetery in what he says was an attempt to resurrect his dead grandmother. A witness called the Knox County Sheriff's Office on Monday to report a homeless man had been vandalizing the cemetery at Huckleberry...

It Was Worth a Fortune —Then He Cut It in Half

Hong Kong buyer apparently thought scroll by Mao was a fake

(Newser) - Hong Kong police delivered some good news and bad news to a collector of antique artifacts. The good: They recovered a long scroll of calligraphy written by none other than Mao Zedong that had been stolen from the collector's apartment. The bad: It seems that the thieves who stole...

Prosecutor: Inmates Were Forced to Listen to 'Baby Shark'

3 former employees have been charged

(Newser) - Two former Oklahoma jail employees and their supervisor face misdemeanor cruelty charges after investigators found they forced inmates to stand handcuffed for hours and listen to the children's song “Baby Shark" on repeat, a prosecutor said Monday. At least four inmates were secured to a wall with their...

Library Worker Stole $1.3M in Printer Toner: Charges

Randall Whited charged with theft in Austin

(Newser) - A Texas library apparently failed, for quite some time, to notice its printer was running out of toner at a suspiciously fast pace. A former employee of the Austin Public Library is accused of fraudulently buying $1.3 million worth of printer toner, which he then allegedly stole and re-sold...

Stories 261 - 280 | << Prev   Next >>