Issue 17 of the Odd Stew: strange news items, oddities, plus other weird and fascinating things that have happened in the news that you may have missed.
Nobody Needs That Many Diapers
Two men in Fox Crossing, Wisconsin perpetrated a rather odd theft between January 3rd and February 13th of 2017. They stole almost 1,800 cases of diapers from a United Way in the area who gave out diapers to families that needed them. The value of the diapers was valued at more than $45,000. Fox Crossing police believed the men engaged in the theft only for the money.
The diaper heist occurred when the United Way was trying to move its diaper bank to a new facility run by Valley Packaging Industries. The two men were once employees of the company and were charged with one count of theft of movable property. The United Way diaper bank distributed 300,000 diapers throughout the area in 2016.
Maybe He Was Out of Mayonnaise
A 55-year-old man in Rock Hill, South Carolina was charged with burglary and petty larceny in early May, 2017, when he broke into his neighbor’s house and made himself a sandwich. The neighbor’s home surveillance system detected motion and alerted police. The homeowner had installed cameras when things appeared to go missing from the home. The things that were reported stolen included a Clover Valley kosher whole dill pickle, two slices of bread, a scoop of Newk’s pimento cheese, and a less than full bottle of moonshine. The 55-year-old man, who was renting property that belonged to the homeowner, told police that he had gone into the home multiple times. It’s probably fairly certain that he won’t get his lease renewed or that he’ll get his security deposit back.
Not the Best Way to Pay Legal Fees
Paterson, New Jersey Mayor Joey Torres and three other officials with the city were charged with theft, misconduct, tampering with public records, as well as other offenses in mid-March 2017. The mayor was accused of using city employees to do private jobs for him and his relatives while they were on city time, sometimes even on overtime.
To raise money for his mounting legal fees, Mayor Torres hosted a Hudson River harbor cruise in early May 2017. The event was reportedly attended by 300 people who paid between $150 to $250 per ticket. A yacht with a capacity to hold up to 1,200 people called the “Cornucopia Majesty” was used for the fundraiser and had a rental cost of $26,000. Any money above this amount was able to go into the mayor’s legal defense fund, but under New Jersey law, details on the funds that were raised from the cruise could be withheld. Torres declined to say where the money would be spent and maintained that he was innocent of all charges.
And You Are?
On Friday, May 5, 2017, a 36-year-old woman in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania made the right choice and decided to walk to a relative’s home instead of driving after a night of drinking. The problem was she walked to a house that wasn’t her relative’s, and to top it off, she did it twice.
The first house the woman went to was near the bar. A window was open but she couldn’t get inside. She left the residence and left her purse behind and went to another house that was more than a mile away. The woman opened a window at this house and climbed through. She then found a bedroom, got into bed and went to sleep.
The homeowner discovered the open window and called police. The Lower Burrell police discovered the woman in the bedroom still asleep in the bed. She was charged with burglary, two counts of breaking into a structure, and a count for allegedly breaking into a house where someone was present. When the woman picked up her purse the following Monday, she told a detective that she must have been sleepwalking.
Dead and Still Paying Taxes
A man in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota finally beat back the IRS with the help of a U.S. Senator from his state. Adam Ronning wasn’t trying to get a lower tax bill or fight an audit, he only wanted the IRS to recognize that he was alive. The IRS had declared him dead for 29 years, starting when he was four years old. He had paid his taxes since 2009 as an adult, but he would either get only half of his return or nothing at all. After getting nowhere speaking directly to the IRS, he got the help of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota who was able to reverse the false declaration. Ronning says the government owes him around $20,000 in returns from his taxes.
Doors Are for Walking Through
On May 7, 2017, A 45-year-old man in Rocky River, Ohio in suburban Cleveland rammed his car into a convenience store, got out, and told the store employee he needed beer. He was wearing nothing from the waist down, and when police arrived, he barricaded himself in a beer cooler and told them to shoot him. Police eventually subdued the man with a stun device. The half-naked driver and the employee were both taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The employee was saved from more serious injury because the man ran into a deli counter that was between him and the car. Not surprisingly, the half-naked man was charged with impaired driving.
Almost a Catastrophe
Jonesboro, Arkansas police arrested two people in mid-May 2017 after they almost pulled off a crime of epic proportions. The pair stole a trailer from outside a storage unit in Jonesboro that contained $5000 worth of Little Debbie snack cakes. The trailer was found by Jonesboro police in a neighboring county after a traffic stop, and two females were arrested. Thankfully, the report from police stated that none of the snack cakes had been opened or touched.
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