KC woman tried to 'defriend' Iowa man permanently, police allege

A Kansas City woman is accused of traveling to Ottumwa, Iowa, and threatening to shoot a man because he'd allegedly made hurtful comments about her over the Internet, KTVO-TV reports.

Robbers beat homeless man, steal his shoes

From Christine Vendel: Kansas City police are looking for three men who beat a homeless man and stole his shoes late Wednesday. The 35-year-old victim told police he was walking in an alley near the 4600 block of Broadway about 11:25 p.m. when the suspects approached him from behind. The victim felt a gun pressed into the right side of his neck.

Intoxicated men ran naked through tiger sanctuary, police allege

In Tennessee, two men -- fired from their jobs at a tiger sanctuary -- "got to drinking" and ended up streaking near the tigers, police tell the Knoxville News Sentinel. Also, they're accused of vandalizing the trailer where they lived, on the sanctuary grounds. There is an excellent mugshot after the jump.

Hat Tip: Saw this via the Obscure Store!

College student commits suicide after being secretly taped during sex

A freshman at Rutgers University committed suicide, jumping off the George Washington Bridge, after his roommate and another student used a hidden camera to record -- and later broadcast -- images of the student having sex with another man. The roommate and the other student are now facing criminal charges.

NFL player jumps out window to escape cheerleader's angry BF, police say

From the AP:

Jacksonville receiver Kassim Osgood leapt out a second-floor window to escape a gun-wielding man who attacked him and a 19-year-old Jaguars cheerleader, according to police.

The armed intruder exchanged gunfire with his ex-girlfriend, Mackenzie Rae Putnal, after putting a gun to her head Monday night, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

Who killed Marquis Hughes?

From Bob Cronkleton: Police say Marquis D. Hughes, 23, was the man fatally shot Tuesday at an apartment complex in south Kansas City. The shooting occurred about 9 p.m. in the 11300 block of Colorado Avenue.

Police found Hughes in a white sport utility vehicle as the driver was rushing him to a hospital. Police stopped the SUV on Red Bridge Road near U.S. 71. Hughes died a short time later at a hospital. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477.

Charges filed in local rapper's murder

Jackson County prosecutors have filed charges in the John Garcia homicide last month, Christine Vendel reports. Garcia, a local rapper, was shot and killed when someone fired into a crowd at Cesar Chavez and Mercier on Aug. 8. Police were able to track down the suspect thanks to a broken side mirror that was left at the scene.

Downtown KC club decides to close

NRG, a club in downtown Kansas City, has decided to close down, Christine Vendel reports. The club had drawn several complaints from neighbors, and police had to respond to the address on a regular basis.

Police have responded to the club more than 100 times this year, mostly for complaints or disturbances. Police have broken up fights inside and outside the club on the past seven weekends, according to police and dispatch records.

Sometimes you feel like a nut ...

A judge from Intercourse, Pa., is accused of handing out acorns that had condoms hidden in them, police tell the AP. The recipients -- women at the state Capitol in Harrisburg -- were not happy.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

We don't see any polygamists ... until they go on national television

TLC is now airing a show called "Sister Wives," about a polygamist family in Utah. Shockingly, this has led Utah authorities to investigate the show's stars for bigamy. As the Salt Lake Tribune reports, the authorities have known about these folks for a while -- but haven't done anything. From the Utah AG's spokesperson:

“It’s generally known in the community there are polygamists in Utah County,” she said. “The problem is we typically don’t have them on TV admitting to breaking the law. We are being confronted with it in a very public manner.”

The spokesperson goes onto say it's a question of resources -- they'd rather spend their time going after cases involving incest, child abuse, etc. The Browns say they knew they were taking a risk by appearing on TV, but thought it was worth the risk to tell their story.

People with longer memories might see shades of Tom Green in this case.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

12 DUI arrests during saturation patrols in downtown KC

Last night, the Jackson County Traffic Safety Task Force -- made up of KCPD, Grandview, Sugar Creek and JaCo officers -- did some saturation patrols near downtown Kansas City, going until 3:30 this morning.

DWI arrests-12
Driving While Suspended-6
Hazardous Moving Violations-18
Non-Hazardous Moving Violations-23
Warrants Served-36
No Insurance-10
Narcotic Arrest-1
Seat Belt Violation-1
Total of Vehicles Stopped -70
Number of officers on patrol – 12

Thursday's Open Thread

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, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Lee's Summit police cite 5 in underage alcohol sales sting

Lee's Summit did an undercover sting last night to see if local stores would sell alcohol to minors. They tested 37 businesses and cited five clerk for violations. From the release:

Citations were issued to business clerks at stores in the 1600 block of NE Douglas Street (Valero), 900 block of NE Woods Chapel Road (Price Chopper), 100 Block of SE Todd George Parkway (Temp Stop), 3300 block of SW 3rd Street (CVS Pharmacy), and the 300 block of SW Blue Parkway (Price Chopper).

Yogi Bear sleeps with the fishes

Near San Francisco, authorities are investigating after someone left a dead 300-pound bear outside a grocery store. They're not sure why the poor thing was left there -- if you've got a dead animal, there are easier places to get rid of it. I'm holding out hope it's a very obscure Mafia "message."

Report: Prosecutor in Ted Stevens case commits suicide

One of the lawyers who prosecuted the late Sen. Ted Stevens -- and was now under investigation himself as a result -- killed himself over the weekend, the Washington Post reports. Stevens' conviction was overturned, at the Justice Department's request, after it was learned that prosecutors didn't turn over notes that undermined their key witness.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

Man found naked on beach tells police that he's Brad Pitt, cops say

He reconsidered after police advised that he could face another charge if he lied about his real name.

Woman awarded $100K for one-night jail stay

A Florida woman has been awarded $100,000 by a jury after authorities kept her in jail overnight, even though they knew she was innocent, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Man killed over stolen cellphone that hadn't been stolen, police say

A Minnesota man is accused of using an assault rifle to shoot and kill a guy who'd allegedly stolen his friend's cellphone. Only the cellphone hadn't been stolen, it had just gotten misplaced.

Good work, Officer Hiner

KCPD Chief Jim Corwin's blog has a piece about Officer Tim Hiner, who rescued a baby and two dogs from a burning home earlier this year.

New laws against texting-while-driving don't really work, study says

A new study -- funded by the insurance industry -- says that laws banning texting-while-driving have all of the effectiveness of a screendoor on a submarine. From the get-go, police have said these laws would be impossible to enforce. But the study goes a step further and suggests the laws might be INCREASING the number of wrecks in some places. The Star's Brad Cooper has a report on this here.

You can find a copy of the report -- which Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood describes as misleading -- here.

Defense raises question of whether sex-trafficking victim gave consent

We got a peek into the defense strategy in the Lebanon sex-trafficking case on Tuesday: The victim might not be a victim, an attorney for the lead defendant argues. From Mark Morris' report:

Susan L. Dill, who is representing lead defendant Edward Bagley Sr., said Tuesday that the woman’s understanding of her situation needs to be explored.

“The acts alleged by the grand jury can’t be characterized as a crime as long as it’s consensual,” Dill said after a court hearing involving another defendant. “Another story is about to be told.”

There have been some ugly sex-trafficking cases to crop up in western Missouri over the past few years, but the activity alleged here is truly stomach-turning. Five men are charged in connection with the sexual abuse and torture of a young woman who'd allegedly been kept as a sex slave. She was exposed to everthing from "waterboarding and electric shock to piercing and mutilation."

KCPD works homicides from Tuesday night, early Wednesday morning

KCPD worked a pair of homicides overnight. The first was down south in the 11300 block of Colorado, though the victim fled the scene and ended up near Red Bridge Road and U.S. 71. That happened about 8:45 p.m. The second happened a little past midnight. Here's what the police had to say:

Upon arrival, the officers found a male in his 30's dead outside a black Chevrolet Caprice. The car was on Fremont just south of 12th Terrace. The man had been shot. The officers also located a second victim, a male in his 30's near the intersection of 12th Terrace and Bennington, about a block from the first victim.

 

Wednesday's Open Thread

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, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Ohio man dressed up like ape, caused 'mischief,' police say

An Ohio man is facing criminal charges for dressing up like an ape and "causing mischief," something that had allegedly been going on since June. He says he was inspired by "Jackass."

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

Pa. man attacked with 'blast knuckles'

What are blast knuckles? Well, they're part brass knuckles, part Taser and all awesome.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!