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