Kansas gets primary seat-belt law

Gov. Mark Parkinson signed a bill yesterday that lets Kansas police stop drivers for failing to wear a seat belt. It used to be that you could be ticketed only if the cops had another reason to stop you. The feds have been offering money to states so they'll adopt so-called "primary seat-belt laws." Kansas will get $11 million for passing the new law. 

Mexico City puts its cops on a diet

You've got to feel bad for Mexican police. On one side you've got the drug cartels trying to chop off your head and leave your body in the desert. On the other is the New York Times, calling you a fattie.

Their bulletproof vests squeeze like corsets, their gun belts lie hidden under rolls of fat. Mexico’s police officers may not catch as many criminals as they should, but they have the reputation of rarely missing a taco stand.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, goshel!

Robbers blow up German bank while trying to steal ATM

In Germany, robbers apparently planned to use explosives to make off with an ATM. Only they ended up destroying the entire bank. Also, the ATM was unharmed. If only they'd made the whole bank out of that stuff ...

Hat Tip: Many thanks, goshel!

Injured dog was set out with trash

In Orange County, Fla., authorities are investigating after a 1-year-old Lab was set out with the trash, allegedly because it wasn't healing fast enough, WESH-TV reports.

Have you seen this man?

KCPD has sent out surveillance photos of a man suspected of burglarizing a home in the 15000 block of Ess Road back on May 21. (Some electronics were taken.) I've lightened up the bottom image, hoping it'll look a little clearer. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (474-8477).

Family worries bodies are missing men

Last night, police found two bodies in a shopping cart behind a house at 45th and Askew, Meredith Rodriguez reports. She spoke with family members who worry the dead people are two brothers whose burned car, marked with bullet holes, was found near 55th and Oakley; the two men have been missing since Tuesday. More here from KSHB.

UPDATE: KCPD is treating this as a double homicide, officially. (The average reader probably assumed that, simply because the bodies didn't put themselves into a shopping car, but the police are pretty careful about these rulings.) No word yet on names or cause of death.

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

'A Ph.D. in murder and Jack the Ripper'

Stephen Griffiths is big news in Great Britain right now. The doctoral student, who studies criminology, is accused of killing three women, all believed to be prostitutes. A neighbor told reporters that Griffiths had said he was working toward a “a Ph.D. in murder and Jack the Ripper." One of the murders was reportedly recorded by a security camera. The police say Griffiths fired a crossbow into the head of one victim, Suzanne Blamire. Her dismembered body was later found floating in the river.

The Daily Mail has a (not particularly flattering) profile of Griffiths here. The Sun found a former friend who claims to have witnessed Griffiths eating a baby rat. When he was brought into court, CNN reports, Griffiths identified himself as "the Crossbow Cannibal."

(AP Photo/John Giles, PA)

KC homicide count stands at 43

Compared to 48 at the same time last year. Right now, the closure rate is 51 percent, when you consider cases from past years that were resolved in 2010. We're heading into a time of year when it seems like we have more homicides. Here's hoping for a peaceful summer, just the same.

Iowa teens charged in raccoon's death

Four teenagers from a Pella church's youth group have been charged with beating a raccoon to death during a camping trip, the Des Moines Register reports. The paper says the teens caught the animal with a snare they built, but didn't know how to free it. So they allegedly killed the raccoon instead.

Fugitive stops to chat with TV crew

Near Springfield, a TV crew inadvertently helped deputies catch a man who had allegedly fled officers after a traffic stop. The camera crew had gone to the neighborhood to interview people, and they wound up talking to the suspect himself. He started to give his side of the story, on camera, about the same time that authorities rolled by.

“We, the suspect and the news crew all intersected,” said Gibson.

JoCo inmate dies after collapsing

A prisoner at the New Century jail died about 6 this morning, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office reports. Mark Bradford Roodhouse was being held on two charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer in Shawnee. He was booked on Wednesday and collapsed that same day, about 10 a.m., and after jail staff got him breathing again, he was taken to a hospital, the sheriff's office states.

Wis. man tries (and fails) to reclaim engagement ring

In Wisconsin, police arrested a man who allegedly tried to pull an engagement ring off his fiancee's finger during an argument; he ended up with a bloody nose instead. (They'd been fighting after he made fun of one of her relatives, police report.)

New hope in old missing child case?

In New York, the district attorney is reopening the case of Etan Patz, the first missing child to appear on milk cartons. It's been more than 30 years since Patz, then 6, disappeared while walking the two blocks to his school-bus stop. A convicted child molester was named as a suspect, but charges have never been brought against him. He's expected to be released from prison in 2012. May 25, the day that Etan disappeared, is now National Missing Children's Day.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, FanDanGo!

In this May 18, 1985 file photo, Stan Patz, left, holds a photo of his son Etan, as he poses for a photo with his other son Ari, at their home in New York. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)

Boy, 4, keeps turning up in meth houses

In Springfield, police removed a 4-year-old boy from a home in April after meth was found there and place him with his grandmother. That worked really well, because they found the same boy in the same house during another drug bust this weekend, the News-Leader reports.

He told police the 4-year-old wasn't "usually" in the home when he made meth and that he only made meth for his own use, according to a probable cause statement.

Drunk, pantsless man accused of trespassing

I just get sick of the media bias sometimes. You know? Whenever you hear about a drunk, pantsless guy, it's always a crime story. Never "Drunk, pantsless guy stops bank robbery" or "Drunk, pantsless guy leads food drive." Story is from Florida, but you probably already knew that.

When you gotta go, you gotta go

Florida man arrested a man who was apparently so busy that he couldn't actually stop to use the bathroom:

"I could see Martinez was urinating as he was walking," an arrest affidavit states. "As I pulled even with him I could see that he had his penis out of his pants as he was walking."

Suspect is less dead than previously thought

If you hear a soft pinging as you read this one, don't worry, it's just your shenanigan-detector, doing its job. Story is from Ohio.

Not remotely crime-related

The family of a transplant patient is suing after he died from uterine cancer -- despite the handicap of not having a uterus -- that developed from a donated kidney.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, John Boy!

Have you seen this man?

From police: The Metro Squad is wishing to speak with a subject of interest regarding the recent homicide in Riverside, Missouri. Lashawn D. Jackson, a 29 year old black male. Jackson is known to frequent the area of Northeast Kansas City, Missouri. If anyone knows any information about Jackson’s whereabouts they are encouraged to contact the Metro Squad at 816-372-9140, or call the TIPS Hotline at 474-TIPS.

Charges possible for 80-year-old who killed burglar?

In Chicago, an 80-year-old veteran allegedly shot and killed a burglar in his home. In most places, there would be a perfunctory investigation, and the man would be cleared, the shooting ruled justified. This is Chicago, though, where the city has a handgun ban. The mayor wouldn't say today if the old man would be charged because of that.

It was all a big misunderstanding ...

From the AP: A state senator says he wasn't intending to bribe a rape victim's sister when he left her a message suggesting it could be "financially beneficial" if she told the truth in a case that sent a friend of his to prison.

Republican Sen. Dennis Nolan acknowledged leaving the voicemail on the woman's phone May 19, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Thursday. But he told the newspaper he was trying to coax her to meet with him so he could wear a "wire" and record what she said.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, badhairday!

Trucker watched porn before fatal wreck

An Ohio trucker has pleaded guilty in a fatal wreck in New York last year. He'd been watching pornography on his laptop shortly before the crash, prosecutors alleged.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

'I didn't rob none of them places'

Is it a confession or simply bad English?

Who killed Michael Tutera?

KCPD has identified the victim of a homicide from earlier today in the 5300 block of Sunset Place: Michael Tutera, 49. Nobody else was home when police found Tutera's body inside his home after 1 a.m. KC Confidential describes him as being in the real-estate business.

Guilty plea in KU gun scare

That was quick. Remember the ruckus at KU a few weeks ago? There was a big police response after a report of a gunman on campus, though it turned out to be wrong. Samuel Moore, the suspect, has just pleaded guilty, the Douglas County D.A.'s office reports. He's looking at six months in jail at least, though he could get zapped for probation violations. From the release: