Mo. plans DUI campaign next week

Kansas City will operate two checkpoints and one wolf pack during that time period, the department says. Jurisdictions across the state will be doing extra enforcement between May 5 and 9 as well.

Boy, 13, accused of chain-saw spree

In Sandy, Ore., police have accused a seventh-grader of "a four-month reign of arson and chain saw destruction," the Oregonian reports. The lad allegedly went out at night and used a chain saw to cut down trees and utility poles -- some of which fell on the road and caused car wrecks. People in town had dubbed the unknown woodsman "the Chainsaw Chicken."

That's not a rubber ducky

In Bluffton, S.C., a man was arrested for trying to sell a 3-foot-long alligator that he kept in his bathtub, police say. The asking price was $30.

Not remotely crime-related

An Idaho woman claims that her cat tried to kill her. A couple of points ...

1. The cat is named after a character in the "Twilight" books. But I'm not judging.

2. The woman has given the cat to a shelter, which is the pet equivalent of being given a one-way plane ticket back to Russia.

30 gallons of dog poop dumped in yard

The owner of dog-waste collection service allegedly dumped 30 gallons of feces in the yard of a customer who owed her $150, police in Bend, Ore., report. The customer says she has cancer and is behind in her bills. The suspect told the local TV station that she didn't stop slinging poop until the po-po arrived. And she doesn't sound terribly remorseful.

"To take the right steps would be to hire a collection person or to take her to small claims court," she said. "But do I have regrets for dumping poop back in her yard cause she's a slacker client? Nope."

NYC cop convicted in YouTube case

Patrick Pogan was only four days out of the police academy when he reportedly knocked a Critical Mass rider off his bike in Times Square. Pogan said that Christopher Long was heading right at him, but someone recorded the incident and posted the video to YouTube. Pogan has now been convicted of lying, but was cleared of assault and harassment. He's already resigned from the department. Long got a $65,000 settlement from the city; he'd sought $1.5 million.

Wash. man killed stepkid, 3, for money

A Washington man was found guilty of drowning his 3-year-old stepdaughter so he could allegedly claim the insurance money, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Joel Zellmer was convicted in an incident from 2003, when little Ashley McLellen drowned in their pool. Prosecutors claimed that Zellmer had a history of dating single moms and persuading them to get insurance policies for their kids -- who then suffered a series of injuries.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

Were shootings ordered at Kent State?

One of the Kent State shooting victims argues that Guardsmen were ordered to fire upon students during the infamous 1970 incident, and he says an audio recording made that day will back him up. Experts are getting to analyze a tape that one student made, to see if Alan Canfora's claim is true. Four students were killed that day. Eight Guardsmen were indicted, but a federal judge eventually dismissed the charges, saying the prosecution's case was too weak. (Need a quick history lesson? Wikipedia has a Kent State entry here.)

Report: ID for body found in Mo. River

KMBC reports that Sugar Creek has put a name to the body recently found in the Missouri River: Christopher A. Jones of KCK. Authorities haven't released how Jones died.

Randy Quaid is a free man

In California, prosecutors have dropped charges against actor Randy Quaid, who was accused of cheating a hotel out of $10,000. (The hotel was eventually paid.) Quaid's wife, though, had to plead no-contest and will be on probation for three years.

File photo via Warner Bros.

Olathe plans May 5 saturation patrol

I have no idea why they would hold a saturation patrol on Cinco de Mayo.

'You're not going to believe this, but I'm the messiah'

A man crashed his car into a Pittsburgh synagogue on Tuesday, police say. He reportedly told officers that he was on a mission from God. Sadly, he does have precedent on his side.

'Andy Griffith' star robbed in 'Mayberry'

Betty Lou Lynn -- who played Thelma Lou, Barney Fife's girlfriend on "The Andy Griffith Show" -- lost her wallet to a thief while shopping in Mount Airy, N.C., the real-life inspiration for Mayberry. The AP says Lynn had moved to the town to avoid crime. Police have a suspect in custody. I'm just glad they were able to nip this in the bud.

A little groveling goes a long way

A quick update to yesterday: Kelsey Gloston, the 19-year-old who was hauled into court wearing flip-flops and shackles for missing jury duty, has apologized to the judge, who's going to let the matter drop. Her dad says he's not going to sue the judge, either.

Feeling RANDy about illegal immigration

The RAND Corporation has a new report about illegal immigration and whether it's a good idea to have local police doing enforcement. A copy of the study costs about $7, though there's a decent summary here. The big problem is there are so many illegal immigrants and not enough "bandwidth" in the federal justice system. ICE estimates it would cost $5 billion and 15 years to catch up. (So, when you see a protest sign saying "They Can't Deport Us All," that's a fairly accurate assessment.)

RAND doesn't dismiss the idea of having local police do immigration enforcement. But there's a danger for local jurisdictions, beyond the civil-rights concerns.

A 2007 partnership between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the sheriff's department in Maricopa County, Arizona, resulted in deputies identifying 16,000 illegal immigrants among 106,000 jail inmates over three months.

However, the effort racked up a debt of $1.3 million in only three months, the percentage of crimes the department solved dropped and the time it took for officers to respond to calls for service grew.

Open Thread ... Thursday (Friday Eve)

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Does this deputy deserve to be charged?

A few weeks ago, we had a story about a Colorado deputy who reportedly Tasered 34 teens at a school's career fair, at their request. The deputy ended up resigning, and now he's facing several charges of misdemeanor child abuse. (Some families didn't press charges.) If he did this, he obviously showed poor judgment. But aren't the kids willing participants, too?

Report of teen's death greatly exaggerated

In New York, police told one couple that their son had died in a car wreck -- only he was still alive. The teen's brother found him sleeping at their house. The parents spent about 90 minutes thinking they had lost a son. The dead man was actually a fraternity brother of the teen, and for some reason, he had a copy of the teen's license with him when he died.

This isn't the first time something similar has happened. In 2006, everyone thought Whitney Cerak had died in a crash with other students, but she was actually alive. Her injuries were so severe, officials confused her with a girl who had died, Laura VanRyn.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

I see a lawsuit in your future ...

Scottsbluff, Neb., has a law banning fortune-telling, divination and other forms of clairvoyance, and the ACLU is asking officials to not enforce the law or, better yet, repeal it. Scottsbluff police can't remember ever actually arresting someone for this. The city attorneys are mulling over what to do, the ACLU reports. I'd like to see what would happen if they DID take this seriously. Maybe checkpoints for Magic 8-Balls? Forcing local churches to remove "Revelations" from their Bibles?

Obama's not in a forgiving mood

President Obama has received a lot of requests for pardons and clemency, but so far, he hasn't granted any, USA Today reports. Recent presidents have hesitated to approve these requests, experts say, because they're afraid it will turn into another Willie Horton incident. (Or another Marc Rich incident.)

3 DUI arrests during saturation patrol

The Missouri Highway Patrol says that it arrested three people for DUI during a saturation patrol April 17 in Jackson County. They report making 26 arrests or citations overall, plus 33 warnings.

Victim's mom says real killer was convicted

Jasmine Lynn -- a KC native attending Spelman College in Atlanta -- was killed last year when someone fired a bullet into a crowd. Earlier this year, a man named Devonni Benton was convicted of killing Lynn, who graduated from Lincoln Prep. Benton's lawyer, though, is now arguing that another person, who was just arrested by police, was the real shooter, Fox 4 reports. It's been distressing for Lynn's mother, though she firmly believes the right man is doing time. Atlanta police held a press conference yesterday to knock down the new allegations, the Journal-Constitution writes.

29-year-old dies from KC shooting

Charles Henderson, 29, has died from injuries he received in a double shooting Tuesday afternoon near 26th and Bellefontaine. The other victim was expected to live. KCPD arrested a suspect, though I don't think charges have been filed yet.

Do you feel a burning sensation?

An Ohio inmate needed emergency treatment after a bottle of hot sauce got stuck in his behind, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The man had originally told authorities that he was assaulted, but later admitted that he had done it himself. (Maybe the lid was stuck?) I would like to congratulate the American taxpayers on their generosity: We're all paying for his medical care.

Quote of the day

"The thing that made me not feel so bad was, she was old."

-- an 18-year-old suspected of getting high and running over an elderly woman, who died. The quote is according to New York police, as reported by the Post. The teen's lawyer says it doesn't paint the full picture, that she was actually very upset.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!