Stupid People News Stories

[BadMoon]

Well it is time for this thread. Please submit stories from your local or even global news. The requirements are simple. It must be about a stupid person doing a stupid thing.

I'll start. This is from my local news:

Uniontown, Pa. (AP) - A self-proclaimed Civil War buff now faces a felony charge for accidentally firing a 2-pound cannon ball through the wall of a neighbor's home.

Fifty-four-year-old William Maser, of Georges Township, was charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct for the incident Sept. 2. Authorities on Thursday added a felony count of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, before Maser waived his right to a preliminary hearing on all charges.

Maser has acknowledged firing a homemade cannon from his yard about 6 p.m. that day. The ball ricocheted and hit the house about 400 yards away. ABC 27 Talkback:
Click Here to Comment on this Story


Police say nobody was hurt by the cannon ball which slammed through a window and a wall before landing in a clothes closet.

 

[Mesa]

Lottery hoax causes riot at Ohio coat store


https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_coat_store_riot_2

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A woman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at a coat store and announced she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases, police said, but she ended up causing a riot when customers realized it was a hoax.

Angry customers threw merchandise around and looted, leaving the store looking as though a hurricane had passed through it, police said.

Linda Brown was arrested Tuesday after an hours-long shopping spree that began when she hired a stretch Hummer limousine to drop her off at a Burlington Coat Factory store, police Sgt. Lt. Michael Deakins said. Brown walked to a cash register and loudly announced she had won the lottery and would pay for each person's merchandise up to $500, he said.

"Well, of course, people like to hear that," Deakins said. "Apparently they were in line calling relatives who were not at the store and told them to come."

People flooded the registers as cashiers began ringing up purchase after purchase, but Brown had not yet paid the bill, Deakins said. At least 500 people filled the aisles and another 1,000 were outside trying to get in, he said.

"She was telling people she won $1.5 million," Deakins said. "But it ends up she didn't win anything. She had no money to pay for anything."

About an hour later, Brown had the limousine driver take her to a bank to withdraw money, but she returned empty-handed, police Detective Steven Nace said. By then, store employees had called in two dozen police officers to handle the crowds.

Shopper Candace Jordan said she told Brown she didn't need clothes, she needed help paying her rent.

"And she said, 'How much is it?'" Jordan told WBNS-TV. "And she promptly wrote out a check."

By the time employees realized Brown didn't have any cash to pay, police said, she already had taken off in the limo.

That's when angry customers, realizing they weren't getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them, Nace said.

"Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," he said. "It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store."

Police said they have no way of tracking down the customers who stole items and fled, but they're reviewing surveillance video.

When the limousine driver realized he wasn't going to be paid the $900 Brown owed him for the day's rental, he turned her in to police, Deakins said.

Brown, 44, was arrested on three outstanding warrants for aggravated menacing, misuse of a 911 system and causing false alarms. She was jailed late Wednesday, but no charges had been filed against her related to the coat store chaos pending a mental health evaluation.

Police said they didn't know if Brown had a lawyer. No telephone number was listed under her name, and no one answered repeated phone calls at the Franklin County Jail.

A spokeswoman for Burlington Coat Factory, which is based in Burlington, N.J., and has more than 300 stores across the country, said late Wednesday she couldn't comment on the incident.

 

[BadMoon]

Lottery hoax causes riot at Ohio coat store


https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_coat_store_riot_2

I love this one Mesa. I like it how some people feel entitled to something even though they were told it was a hoax. IDIOTS!

 

[Agent0028]

I love that the people didn't figure it was BS from the start. Who in the world wins the lottery and then goes into a store and announces they'll pay for everyone's purchases.

I also like that the way the story is written it sounds like the limo driver only turned her in because he realized he wasn't getting paid either.

 

[wofford29]

Better yet who would win the lotto and go to a Burlington coat factory?

 

[Agent0028]

I would, but I'm a cheap bastard.

 

[The Mike]

Yes. This happened.

Louisiana Woman, Couple Charged With Swapping Two Kids for Pet Bird, Cash
Thursday, February 26, 2009


Print NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana woman is accused of trading two young children in her care for a pet cockatoo and $175 cash from a couple who had been trying for years to have their own child, authorities said Thursday.

Donna Greenwell, 53, a long-haul trucker with an arrest record from Pitkin, is charged with aggravated kidnapping, along with would-be adoptive parents Paul J. Romero, 46, and Brandy Lynn Romero, 27, of Evangeline Parish.

"The Romeros had good intentions from what we see," said Keith Dupre, a detective with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office. "They really wanted to take care of the kids. The kids were well-dressed and seemed to be treated good by the Romero family."

The transaction for the 5-year-old boy and the 4-year-old girl was negotiated by phone after Greenwell spotted a flier posted at a livestock barn selling a cockatoo for $1,500 and called the Romeros on Feb. 18, Dupre said.

Although Paul Romero had three children from a previous marriage, Dupre said, he and Brandy had tried unsuccessfully for years to have a child together.

When they told that to Greenwell, she allegedly offered to hand over the boy and girl for about $2,000. When the Romeros said they couldn't meet the price, Dupre said, "Ms. Greenwell agreed to make an even trade: the bird for the kids."

Greenwell showed up with the children at the Romeros' home the next day and said she would also need $175 for an attorney to complete adoption paperwork, Dupre said. But she had no authority to put the children up for adoption.

Everything began to unravel last week when authorities received a phone tip that the Romeros and the children would be at a local fast food restaurant, where authorities approached them. The children are in state custody.

Authorities believe Greenwell began caring for the children about a year ago at the mother's request.

The detective said Greenwell "stated that the mother was having a hard time and asked her to baby sit. She said one month led to two months and two months led to a year."

The children's father, of Leesville, was questioned and has expressed interest in getting custody of the children. The mother is believed to be in Texas but told investigators through a relative that she plans to come to Evangeline Parish soon. The state would decide whether the parents can visit or gain custody of the children.

Authorities are checking a claim made by the children to one police officer that they were sexually and physically abused, although not by Greenwell or the Romeros.

The Romeros were free on $5,000 bond. Greenwell — described as a long-haul trucker with an extensive arrest record including charges of kidnapping, assault and theft — remained in jail on $100,000 bond, Dupre said. She turned herself in on Sunday.

The court clerk's office said Thursday that attorneys had been appointed for Greenwell and Paul Romero. Greenwell's court-appointed lawyer, Timmy Fontenot of Mamou, declined comment. A message was left Thursday afternoon for Romero's lawyer, Kelly Tate.

Police in Glenmora, near where Greenwell lives, are seeking information from anyone who might know if Greenwell has sold other children.

"She's had numerous children living with her at various times over the years," said Officer Jennifer Potter, who received the anonymous telephone tip that eventually led to the arrests.

 

[BadMoon]

Perfect time to bump this thread. IDOITS!

(CNN) -- Police say guilt was written all over their faces.

Police received a call Friday night that two men with hooded sweatshirts and painted faces had tried to break into a man's home in Carroll, Iowa.

When police stopped a vehicle matching the caller's description blocks away, they were stunned by the men's disguises.

There were no ski masks or stockings pulled over their heads; instead, Matthew Allan McNelly, 23, and Joey Lee Miller, 20, streaked their faces with permanent black marker.

Carroll Police Chief Cayler told CNN the strange disguises made it easier for his officers.

"We're very skilled investigators and the black faces gave them right away," Cayler said jokingly. "I have to assume the officers were kind of laughing at the time. I've never heard of coloring your face with a permanent marker."

Cayler said police believe one of the alleged burglars targeted the home because he suspected his girlfriend had a relationship with the man who lived there.

I've seen a lot of things that make me laugh and weird things but this was probably the best combination of the two.

--Carroll Police Chief Cayler
"They probably were just not thinking straight and figured we'll go out and scare the guy or whatever," Cayler said. "[They were] being dumb and combine that with alcohol and it was the perfect storm."

Both men were charged with attempted burglary, and McNelly was charged additionally with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Lawyers for the two men could not be reached for comment.

Cayler said he's been fielding calls about the case from news media outlets from all over the country -- mostly because of their funny-looking mug shots.

"I've been chief here almost 25 years, been with the department 28½ years and I've seen a lot of things that make me laugh and weird things but this was probably the best combination of the two -- strangely weird and hilariously funny all at the same time.

 

[Darth Cruel]

LOL...dummies! But they have to be cut a small huss. They WERE drunk. And, honestly, I have seen people do much more stupid things when they were drunk.

Hell, I may have done one or two things more stupid than this myself considering all the nights that I have no memory of at all.

 

[jinxx]

https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52848

 

[BadMoon]

https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52848

That's not really a news story.

 

[BadMoon]

Hanover, Pa. - A man who stole more than $400 worth of video games from a York County Walmart store lost the merchandise during his getaway - as well as his pants and a shoe.

West Manheim Township police said the suspect also left behind his car keys and a cell phone which, along with witness information and surveillance video, was used to identify him as 22-year-old Jackson Barnhart.

Barnhart ran from the South Hanover Walmart with $460 worth of video games, but tripped and fell twice because his pants were falling down, police said. An employee tried to detain him, but police said he struggled and broke free. He was last seen running across Baltimore Pike in his underwear and T-shirt, police said. ABC 27 Talkback:
Click Here to Comment on this Story


Police charged Barnhart with robbery, theft and disorderly conduct in the April 6 incident and in a similar incident the day before, when he allegedly walked out of the same store with $550 worth of video games.

Police said he lost the merchandise during that attempt as well, when a customer heard the security scanner alarm and grabbed Barnhart. He was able to break free after slipping out of his sweatshirt, police said.

Police said Barnhart was already in prison on unrelated charges when they identified him as the suspect.

 

[agen_kolar]

I think this qualifies. Surely you've all seen it.

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[The Ringer]

Always loved that one.



at the sketch