Woman accused of public intoxication is actually a stroke survivor

A Dallas woman is suing the police department there because they arrested her for public intoxication. The real reason she had slurred speech? She's a stroke survivor. 

Her family is also upset because the police allegedly called her out of her house -- and onto her porch -- so they could arrest her for "public" intoxication.

Is the same cross-dressing robber responsible for Roeland Park, Plaza cases?

From Matt Campbell:

A man dressed as a woman robbed the US Bank branch at 4970 Roe Blvd. in Roeland Park at 11:41 a.m., according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is “significantly similar” to a robbery last week of a bank near the Country Club Plaza, said FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton.

She's talking about this robbery at the M&I Bank. What do you think? Same guy? Separated at birth? As hilarious as bank robbers in drag are, it's not without peer. The lighting might be a factor, but the robber from the Roeland Park case looks like he has a darker skin tone.

Fact: Hernia surgery isn't a DIY project

Police were called when a 63-year-old man in Glendale, Calif., reportedly attempted to remove his own hernia using a butter knife. 

In attempting to remove his own hernia, said Sam Carvajal, a surgeon at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, he likely caused more harm than good.

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!

Truck covered in anti-government messages shuts down I-70 for hours

I can't see the truck well enough to make out what the words, but that's what the Cap-Journal reports.

Via AP:

A 50-year-old Arkansas man was arrested Monday after a hazardous-materials incident prompted the hours-long closing of about 20 miles of Interstate 70 west of Topeka.

The closing began around 1:15 p.m. Monday, and the Kansas Department of Transportation said it could last until midnight or later.

The incident began when dispatchers in Junction City received an anonymous call Monday morning about hazardous materials in a room at a Ramada Inn. The motel was evacuated.

Image via AP/KMBC-TV

Pepper spray deployed against 'rogue kangaroo'

Naturally, this is a story from Australia.

Robber in Shawnee bank holdup wore fake beard, sunglasses

From Joe Lambe:

Police and the FBI are looking for an armed man who robbed a bank in Shawnee (on Monday) afternoon. He robbed the Bank of Blue Valley, 5520 Hedge Lane Terrace, shortly after 3:30 p.m. and escaped with an undetermined amount of cash, the FBI said.

They described him as a white, with a thin build, in his early 20s and wearing camouflaged pants, a long sleeve green shirt and a fake beard and sunglasses.

Calif. woman accused of biting off man's eyebrows

Admittedly, that's got to be a painful experience. Still, I wept because I had no shoes ... until I heard about this guy.

Dragnet: Suspect in shooting allegedly wore wig, pink halter top as disguise

There are a lot of different ways to win a woman's heart. Dressing up in a wig and a pink halter top so you can shoot your romantic rival? That's ... a little different.

KC mounted cops stop suspects in Cadillac Escalade

From Christine Vendel:

Mounted patrol officers cornered a Cadillac Escalade near the Country Club Plaza Saturday night and arrested two teenagers after shots were fired.

Kansas City police said several hundred youths showed up on the Plaza and some who were causing trouble were asked to leave the shopping and entertainment district. Many of them gathered in Mill Creek Park, where officers heard gunshots about 11:15 p.m.

Side effects may include naked wrestling with your friends

Three Oregon men are accused of taking LSD, getting naked and then fighting each other, police say.

Tuesday'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!

KCPD solves cold case from 1968 -- one of the oldest on the books

From Mike McGraw:

During a recent reinvestigation of the 1970 murder of black political leader Leon Jordan, Kansas City police solved another murder — what they called the oldest cold case closed to date.

The body of 38-year-old Richard DeLeon Hill was found Nov. 30, 1968, near the south end of the ASB Bridge. He had been shot once in the side of the head. That’s where the trail went cold for the next 42 years.

But police recently determined that Joe Centimano and James “Doc” Dearborn, who also played a role in Jordan’s murder, were behind Hill’s murder two years earlier. The motive for the Hill murder is not clear, said Richard Sharp, the supervisory sergeant in the case.

Lena Bruster, widow of Richard DeLeon Hill, spoke last week about her memories of 1968, the year he was killed.

Suspect in Norwegian mass murder would like a little more attention, please

The suspect in last week's massacre in Norway says he wants a "public platform" to explain why he allegedly murdered more than 90 people, many of them youths at a summer camp. Because his Facebook page, Twitter feed and his manifesto just weren't getting the job done. According to his lawyer, the suspect feels the murders were "atrocious, but necessary."

Should ex-cons be protected from housing, job discrimination?

San Francisco is considering an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination against ex-cons when it comes to hiring and housing. Proponents say it's necessary so that former inmates can reenter regular society and avoid falling back into a life of crime. 

Private businesses, meanwhile, say they have a right to consider this information because it could affect the safety of their customers.

Sisters try to raise reward money in KCK man's murder

From Christine Vendel:

Someone set him on fire during a confrontation about 2:30 a.m. July 2 in the 800 block of Miami Avenue in Kansas City, Kan., near where he had been living in a shed.

A neighbor tried to help him extinguish the flames. He suffered burns on his entire body — except for the soles of his feet. Doctors induced a coma to spare him as much pain as possible. He died at a hospital.

Now, three weeks later, his sisters are working to raise money for a reward fund to bring information that could solve the killing. They have raised $500 so far, which was added to the usual $1,000 offered by the TIPS Hotline for information.

Another contender for Mother Of The Year

A Connecticut woman is accused of giving beer to her son, age 4, and her 10-month-old daughter at a playground there. (Police say they found a baby bottle that apparently contained an alcoholic beverage.) The little girl also test positive for cocaine.

While being examined, police said the 4-year-old told a social worker he likes, "Natural Ice beer, Budweiser beer, but didn't like the taste of Dog-Bite beer."

Who's Grandma's favorite? Well, if you put a gun to my head ...

This is why it's crucial to never play favorites with your kids and grandkids. From the Northwest Florida Daily News:

According to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's press release, Groves and his wife were arguing over which granddaughter was her favorite when the intoxicated man pushed her to the ground and put a gun to her head.

Give a hoot, don't pollute ... or I'll shoot

An Arizona woman, age 66, confronts a litterbug, and naturally, it devolves into gunplay. Only he was carrying a BB gun while she was packing big-people bullets -- which by the way, she was totally cool with using.

Steen said, "He knelt down about 3 feet from the gun and said I'm going to tie my shoe. I said 'You don't need to tie your shoes, show me your hands.' He started reaching for the gun so I fired another shot into the ground."

Angry man allegedly mailed gay porn to his enemies, Mich. police say

A Michigan man is accused of mailing gay pornography to not one, not two, but 20 people who had upset him, police allege.

Monday'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!

Chicago man less dead than previously reported

You know the old story about dead people voting in Chicago? Well, sometimes they leave Chicago and go work as bookies in Las Vegas.

Hat Tip: Saw this via the Obscure Store!

Lee's Summit to pay Ted White $15.5 million

The city had tried to back out of the payment, saying that it would violate one of its ordinances. From The Star:

The city of Lee’s Summit announced today that it will pay a $15.5 million settlement to Ted White, a businessman wrongly convicted of sexual misconduct.

The city said the payment is part of an agreement will resolve all of White’s claims against Lee’s Summit and its former police chief, Ken Conlee.

After five years in prison, White won a $16 million judgment when a federal jury decided that a Lee’s Summit detective conspired with White’s wife to get White convicted of child sexual abuse charges. The detective, who is no longer with the department, later married White’s former wife.

I'm not sure if this is related to movement in the case from this past spring.

Platte City man dies after altercation

From Glenn Rice:

A 46-year-old Platte City man died early today after an altercation with his daughter’s boyfriend.

The incident was reported at 12:20 a.m. at a residence in the 1800 block of Gates Drive West. Police said they arrested the 20-year-old boyfriend.

According to initial police reports, the father tried to prevent his daughter and her boyfriend from leaving the residence. The two had been drinking and got into an argument, police said.

When life gives you lemons ...

... smash some #$%&.

That's what one Massachusetts man allegedly did after a car lot sold his wife a lemon and refused to take it back. David Cross reportedly drove the van back to the lot after hours and started ramming into other cars. From seacoastonline.com:

"I hit the first $25,000 car I could see," Cross told the Herald. "I didn't hit a car under $20,000. Then I moved a van that they wouldn't come down on the price for. I moved it with the lemon they sold me. I just held it to the floor until I couldn't move it anymore. I took out seven vehicles, including my own."

Among the casualties: a Mercedes and a special-edition Mustang.