Moment of silence for Rhonda's gas cap

Reader Rhonda in the open thread today:

• I fell victim to a crime at lunch today...I was filling up at the Quik Trip on Westport Road and I went into the store while the gas was pumping. When I came back out, someone had taken my gas cap, which was lying on top of the trunk.
• It's an '89 Honda Accord. I guess newer cars have the gas cap attached.
• I am pissed... and mystified.
• Posted by: Rhonda | Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 01:19 PM

Sorry to hear that, Rhonda. It is away...

Mom, son fire on crowd outside home

A 16-year-old St. Louis County boy was killed and another wounded when a mother and son opened fire on a crowd of youths who had gathered at their home seeking a fight, police said.

Hat tip to reader The_Golfer!

Cigarettes target of minimart burglar

Hmm, risking a possible felony rap for this:

• A thief smashed the glass door at a minimart outside Edgerton about 4:30 a.m. today and stole several cartons of cigarettes from behind the counter.

Co-ed hoaxer: 'Sorry I swore so much'

The dramatic Valentine's Day breakup of a couple at the University of North Carolina, which was filmed, drew 747,000 hits on YouTube and made the news, was a hoax, the students say - they weren't even dating. Now the woman says she wishes she hadn't sworn so much in her tirade:

• 'The Pit Breakup' video (language alert)

Update: They're all narcissists, anyway

Airline CEO jailed with 1,200 women

Some think US Airways CEO Doug Parker got a sweet deal because famous Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio put him in with 1,200 women to serve a 24-hour sentence for DUI. But Arpaio says Parker got a bologna sandwich and a bunless hot dog, just like other inmates.

Hat tip to reader eephus!

'Find the other guy before it's too late'

A rendezvous at 12th & Askew to buy a gun went wrong when one of the participants shot two others, one fatally, police said. Charged is Cedric Tucker, 18, who allegedly told a companion he, "had hit that guy and that he was going to die" and that he needed "to find the other guy before it is too late."

Complaint and probable cause statement

Pot customer calls cop, not dealer

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) - A middle-school teacher trying to buy pot was arrested after she sent text messages to state trooper instead of a dealer, police said.

Hat tip to reader kmb!

Man who ran light now faces up to 4 years

A California driver has turned a $215 ticket for running a stop sign into a felony perjury rap after prosecutors said that he presented photos from another accident at his trial.

Hat tip to reader kmb!

Military signal zaps garage door openers

A bonanza for garage door opener salesmen, a hassle for East Coast homeowners, and surely a sign of the times:

• Marine signal knocks out garage door openers

Hat tip to reader BS Steve!

'Anthrax' standoff closes campus at Rolla

Update:  He's arrested

ROLLA, Mo. (AP) _ Nearly two dozen people were being decontaminated Tuesday after a white, powdery substance was found on a student who claimed to have a bomb and threatened ''terrorist-type'' actions at the University of Missouri-Rolla, officials said.
The man, described as an international graduate student depressed about his grades, also claimed to have anthrax, according to police. School officials said ''possible bomb materials'' were found when he was taken into custody.
Twenty-three people were sent through a decontamination process Tuesday morning outside the university's civil engineering building, where a police standoff with the student had started around 2:30 a.m.
Acting Police Chief Mark Kearse said that when police arrived the student was holding a knife and that he held up a bag and said: ''This is a bomb.'' He also claimed to have anthrax.

AP story

Crime wave at Independence Ridge?

E-mail from reader Mike M. 10:56 p.m. Monday:

• I live in Independence Ridge and drove by the cops investigating the third shooting in the last 3 or 4 months: A driveby where the victim fled to Kohls late last year, the homicide on 2/4, and now tonight. What's up with the neighborhood? How about a op-ed or journalistic investigation?

I've passed this along to our Independence bureau, maybe they'll write something. Anyone up for an op-ed?

From the Star this morning:
One man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot in the head at an Independence apartment complex Monday night.
Police spokesman Tom Gentry said the shooting occurred about 8 p.m. at the Independence Ridge Apartments in the 19000 block of East 37th Terrace.
Officers think two or three men entered the apartment and shot the victim once.
Earlier this month, a man was shot to death at the same apartment complex.

KC woman: 'My best friend cut me'

Reanne York went to visit her best friend, Monique L. Liggins, in the 1400 block of West Bluff, Sunday. But Liggins, four other women and a guy were waiting for Reanne at the bottom of the stairs and, according to police, they:

• Knocked her to the floor, hit and kicked her, sliced a 2-foot gash in her right leg with a razor, cut both her arms, pulled her out of the home by her hair, took her cell phone and stole her car.

Complaint and probable cause statement

Sobriety checkpoint in Midtown Friday

Get ready to walk the line and do the HGN: Kansas City police will hold a sobriety checkpoint in Midtown from about 11:30 p.m. Friday to about 3 a.m. Saturday.

News release from KCPD DUI Unit Sgt. Ron Podraza.

'Perez? I thought we let him out last year'

Man spends 17 months in jail for stealing soda
CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — Officials are at a loss to explain how they allowed a homeless, mentally ill man accused of stealing a soda to languish in jail for 17 months.
Edward Perez’s attorney, his court-appointed psychiatrist, the judge in his case and Lake County jail officials all apparently believed he had been released a year ago.

Best PC deals: Guy in parking lot

The city attorney in Denver is fighting for his job after admitting buying a PC from a guy in a parking lot near City Hall.
"It was rather foolish of me to even think about buying a computer from a fellow in a parking lot," Larry Manzanares said. "But being kind of naive, I bought it. I didn't have any idea that it was stolen."

Hat tip to reader kmb!

Government may take mom's obese kid

The Nanny Society is literally here, in Britain - authorities in London say they may take an 8-year-old boy into protective custody because he is so fat - 218 pounds.

Hat tip to reader kelly!

Your dog might make a nice fake fur coat

They can have my dog's fur - there's lots of it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — That fur trim on your jacket that you think is fake? Tell it to Fido.
An animal advocacy group says its investigation has turned up coats — some with designer labels, some at higher-end retailers — with fur from man’s best friend. Some retailers were set scrambling to pull the coats from shelves, take them off Web sites and even offer refunds to consumers.
The Humane Society of the United States said it purchased coats from reputable outlets, such as upscale Nordstrom, with designer labels — Andrew Marc, Tommy Hilfiger, for example — and found them trimmed with fur from domestic dogs, even though the fur was advertised as fake.

(Photo: Real dog fur)

Breast-cancer chief guilty of child porn

This is fairly weird: The 60-year-old board president of the St. Louis chapter of a national breast-cancer awareness organization faces up to 10 years in prison  for having four child-porn images on her home PC - maybe more - sent by her chat friend in Atlanta who ended up doing 30 years for child exploitation.
Sandra Batte, of Chesterfield, Mo., resigned her voluntary position at Susan G. Komen for the Cure Feb. 6, a spokesman said.

Mario is dead, but his friends aren't talking

The 33-year-old Kansas City man was shot dead in a drive-by, but the three other persons in the car, including a 17-year-old who was wounded in the shoulder and thigh, aren't talking:

• Mario Cervantes suffered a gunshot wound to the head late Wednesday near Winner Road and Hardesty Avenue.
• He was riding in the back seat of a car when someone opened fire at the car, pounding holes in the trunk and breaking the back windshield.
• Police learned of the shooting when the victims arrived at a hospital about 12:05 a.m. Thursday. The victims would not provide details of the incident, police said. Police arrested the 19-year-old driver of the car on an outstanding drug warrant.

Open thread Tuesday

This is the place to come for discussion of off-topic topics. It's also a good place to bring crime-related story ideas, especially with a link or hint to where I can find it. The blog is always hungry.