Open Thread ... Tuesday

The Open Thread -- the blog's spot for off-topic comments -- is up and running on a lovely Tuesday morning. Thanks again for spending a little time with us today. Please remember to sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language.

This is James Hart, by the way, back from my day off. Thanks again to Sara Shepherd for filling in Monday.

I read the OT, but if you need to reach me directly, my email is jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Mark my words: This will be a movie, and Julia Roberts will star in it

A man who used to head up St. Louis' public defenders office has admitted to arranging a fake marriage. He got one of his female friends to marry his Peruvian boyfriend, so the boyfriend would be able to stay in the country.

Naked women pulled from wreck: "All they had on was the radio"

And their seatbelts! The story is from Texas. The two women say they had been at a water park and took off their wet clothes for the ride home. From the story:

Alvarez said that in his 13 1/2 years as a DPS trooper, he had never before investigated a crash involving nude drivers.

"But she's from Austin," he said, "and I figure Austin folks are a little different."

Mega-Hat-Tip to kmb!

Will damning surveillance get kicked in AZ serial killing trial?

Two Arizona men are accused of killing seven people and wounding 17 others in a series of attacks that lasted more than a year. The police bugged their car, apartment and telephone -- and reportedly got some very damning dialogue: "I love shooting people in the back," one allegedly said. "That's so much fun."

The suspects' attorneys, though, are trying to get the surveillance footage kicked, saying police didn't get the right warrant.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!

Fact: Gary Coleman lives in Utah

Which is where he was cited for disorderly conduct. (He was in vehicle and was having a heated argument with a woman, so bystanders called police.) Personally, the disorderly rap sounds like bunk -- doesn't sound like he hit anybody.

File photo of Coleman in happier, more Christmassy times.

Man convicted of drug trafficking, even though he had a prescription

A Florida man was sentenced to 25 years after he was caught with 58 Vicodin pills in his truck, which automatically counts as trafficking. Unless you have a prescription, which this guy did. (Nobody told the jury.) An appeals court has ordered that he get a new trial after he spent two years behind bars.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, kmb!

Thief steals unmarked FBI car

From The Star: Authorities are looking for an unmarked FBI car discovered stolen this morning from a residence in Prairie Village.

FBI spokesman Ganpat Waugh said the thief probably didn’t know the car was federal property because it was unmarked and items used by law enforcement likely were stored out of sight. The missing property includes a police radio, blue body armor stamped with the yellow letters “FBI” and 50 rounds of .40-caliber pistol ammunition. No weapons were in the car, Waugh said.

Federal authorities are not releasing the make of the vehicle or the location of the crime partly to protect the agent’s identity, but Waugh said the vehicle was locked and parked in the driveway of the home. No keys were left inside.

KCPD investigates triple shooting

UPDATED: It's actually three hit. One dead, one critical, one shot in the leg. No names yet.

PREVIOUSLY: Kansas City police are investigating a double shooting where one man died about 11:30 this morning. It happened on a porch near 56th and Wabash.

Suspect: The Mets made me kill my mom

A New York man accused of killing his mother with a barbell says he was set off by the Mets losing to the Washington Nationals, police reported. The man reportedly thought his mother, age 61, was going for a weapon.

Do you know this man?

Missed this from the other day, but KCPD is asking for the public's help in tracking down a rape suspect from a series of attacks late last year in the Northland. This is the composite of the guy they're seeking. Police says he's about 23 or 24 years, 5 feet 10 to 5 feet 11 with a strong build. When the attacks happened, he had short hair, a slight goatee and a medium complexion. They also say the man talked with a deep voice and used lots of slang.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8477). All calls are confidential.

TX woman disappears -- husband says he didn't smell her decomposing in closet

Texas man doesn't see his wife for a few days and, naturally, just assumes she ran off. Actually, she was dead and decomposing in a storage closet -- authorities aren't sure what the cause was. The husband says he never smelled the body because he has nerve damage in his nose. Their daughter found the woman while looking for a cat a few days later.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JayTee! And JUNGLE JIM

(I'm not going to call shenanigans on the husband, but readers are always welcome, if they think his story smells fishy.)

Missouri's prison population is shrinking

Missouri has seen its prison population drop by 3 percent, the biggest percentage change among the 50 states, the Post-Dispatch reports. One reason why? The state is starting to send more parolees to "supervision centers" -- a type of residential facility that works with offenders to get them ready to reenter society.

Missouri has two such facilities, but five others are planned, including one in Kansas City.

Victims' families decline death penalty in gruesome FL murders

This story got to me. Two college students were murdered while camping in a Florida forest last year by a man who, frankly, decided to kill them on a whim with an AK-47. If ever there was a case that cried out for the death penalty, this is probably it.

But the students' parents have declined capital punishment. Partly because the appeals process would dig up painful memories, partly because the victims wouldn't have wanted it.

And I'm sorry, I just had to pass along this quote from the murderer, who was asked why he murdered two strangers a few minutes after meeting them:

"I have my little fantasy world and whatnot," Boatman said. "I've read lots of books, you know, and then I probably got onto, like, the murder mysteries. ... They kind of got me into that state of mind."

Was MO deputy right to Taser head-banging, suicidal woman?

In Cassville, three police officers and three deputies have been put on leave after one of them allegedly used a Taser on a suicidal woman at the county jail. The woman reportedly banged her head against the concrete floor and wouldn't stop.

Where do American Idol rejectees go?

If Corey Clark is any indication, a county jail in Arkansas. Clark -- a former American Idol contestant -- was arrested Monday in Arkansas on drug charges and a warrant from Arizona. (Clark made the Idol finals a few years ago, but was booted because he failed to disclose a previous arrest.)

Police: Despite parents' efforts, 13-year-old girl hooked up with man over Internet

Columbia police are investigating after a 13-year-old girl allegedly used the Internet to hook up with a 24-year-old man. Officers said they found the two alone in a car in a city park.

What's a little different about this case is that her parents had some warning. One of the girl's friends told them that she'd allegedly been calling this guy in the middle of the night. Mom and Dad cut off her access to MySpace and even called the guy to scare him off. But police say she still found a way to make contact with him.

Don't let your boss read this one

A car dealer is accused of killing his two employees because they kept asking for raises, Georgia police said.

Missing KS boy found at KCMO homeless shelter

Here's some good news: Police found Cliffton Nick Perryman, a missing 17-year-old boy with mental difficulties, last night at the reStart shelter in Kansas City, KSHB reports. Other than a cut lip and black eye, it sounds like he's OK.

Alleged cop-killer took slain officer's handcuffs as a souvenir, police say

Arizona authorities say a 20-year-old man not only shot and killed a police officer last week, he also allegedly gave the officer's handcuffs to his girlfriend as a "souvenir."

Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!

Charges in shooting outside Club Barcelona

Jackson County prosecutors have charged two men in connection with a shooting outside Club Barcelona early Monday morning. Authorities say the victim is a man who, with his friends, went to help a woman they thought was being assaulted. He's expected to live.

Arrestee runs amok

Colleen Miller was already in trouble when she left the courthouse Friday in Independence --- she faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for forgery.

But then she decided to run into traffic to escape a police detective, spitting at him, biting him and screaming that he was trying to rape her when he tried to recapture her.

Miller was charged Monday with assault on a law enforcement officer and escape from custody --- and now could be sent to jail for as many as 11 years instead.

--- Sara Shepherd

Police find four infants' bodies in Maryland home

Ugly story from Maryland, where police have found the bodies of four infants at a home there. Two were in  a trunk, another was in a bag in a motorhome. The most recent was in a bathroom vanity. None of the infants had reached full-term. The woman who lives there has been charged with murder and manslaughter. (Though the causes of death haven't been determined yet.)

The woman says she's innocent and promises to clear her name. She has four other children and runs a cab company.

Hat Tip: jayhawker and kmb! Photo of Christy Freeman via The AP.

Your mom was right: Kid gets shot over messy bedroom

Ohio teenager, age 13, spends the night at a friend's house. Friend walks back into the bedroom and sees it's a mess -- which upsets him so much that he pulls out a gun and shoots the teenager. Kid lives, but he's still got a bullet lodged in his neck.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, kmb!

Police: World's bravest thief nabbed outside Salina PD

Salina police said they caught a guy breaking into officers' civilian vehicles while they were parked outside headquarters. The haul? About $5 in loose change. The story also says the vehicles were unlocked, though it's not clear if that was before the thief hit them.

11 DUI arrests at KCPD sobriety checkpoint

From KCPD: The Kansas City Missouri Police Department conducted a Sobriety Checkpoint on July 28, 2007 from 2300 hours to 0400 hours at 70th and Troost. Southbound traffic was checked with total of 368 vehicles stopped.

A total number of 11 DUI arrests were made, along with 3 city charges of possession of marijuana, 1 city charge of possession of a firearm while intoxicated, 1 disorderly conduct, 24 city warrants, 1 Jackson Co. Warrant, and 5 non hazardous moving violations.