Homeless man won't "snitch" on who shot him

From Sara Shepherd:

A bystander called police after hearing a gunshot and seeing a man limping out of a Northeast area carwash stall Thursday afternoon.

When officers arrived, according to their report, the victim said he had been shot in the knee but refused to say who shot him or why.

“I ain’t no snitch,” he told them.

The shooting happened shortly before 2 p.m. at 5700 Independence Ave. An ambulance took the victim, a 36-year-old homeless man, to a hospital. His injury was not life-threatening. The witness described the suspects’ car to police, but the victim said he did not want to prosecute.

Utah man accused of putting rat poison in mother-in-law's soy milk

Police say the would-be victim noticed something was amiss when she allegedly poured the milk over her cereal and there were blue D-Con flakes in the liquid. (They say there were about two to three tablespoons in the milk.)

Mo. woman claims discrimination in Wal-Mart incident

We could get a verdict as soon as today in the case of Heather Ellis, a black woman accused of assaulting a cop and other crimes in Kennett, Mo. It all stems from a January 2007 incident at a Wal-Mart. Ellis allegedly cut in line at a register, which set off a "contretemps." She allegedly threatened another customer, screamed loudly and kicked two cops. Ellis says that police roughed her up and used racial slurs against her, and she says that store personnel refused to give her back her change and demanded to see her ID, even though she was paying with cash. (As the Post-Dispatch notes, another customer admits to cutting, too, and misbehaving, but didn't get into trouble.)

If Ellis gets convicted, she could theoretically get 15 years -- but because she's a schoolteacher with an otherwise clean record, so I sort of doubt she'd get the max.

In a Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 file photo, Heather Ellis, left, arm-in-arm with her mother, Hester Ellis, exits the Stoddard County Justice Center in Bloomfield, Mo., following a pre-trial hearing. Syracuse, N.Y.-based Your Black World Coalition is organizing a Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 rally in Kennett in support of Ellis. (AP Photo/Dexter Daily Statesman, Corey Noles, File

Can't we all be friends? No

Louisiana woman ran boyfriend's ex-wife off the road and into a ditch, police allege.

KC woman shot man who threw drink in her face, prosecutors allege

Latonia Gibson, 41, is facing charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, Jackson County prosecutors say. Gibson allegedly shot a man in the abdomen back in September. She'd reportedly been in an altercation with another woman, who threw Gibson onto the man, who threw her off and threw a drink in her face when she allegedly came at him.

Steelers fan says he was poisoned, blinded at Chicago bar

He and some buddies had apparently been trashtalking some Bears fans, who sent over a drink as a supposed "peacemaker," he says. It was apparently spiked with something that made his heart stop several times and has left him blind. Chicago police are investigating.

Report: Motorist, 72, accused of pulling gun

KMBC has a story about a 72-year-old man who allegedly tracked down a younger driver who'd cut him off. The older man is accused of pulling a gun, Overland Park police say. The 72-year-old says that he never pointed a gun at him.

J. Jonah Jameson was right

We just can't trust Spider-Man ...

File photo via AP!

Ind. woman shoots boyfriend in the buttocks during fight, police say

"My last girlfriend was a real pain in the ..."

Suspect charged in KCPD officer-involved shooting

From KCPD: The suspect has been identified as 25-year-old John I. Battaglia of KCMO. He is charged in JACO with Armed Criminal Action and Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer. The requested bond is $250,000 cash.

Colo. woman accused of drugging, raping male friend

She's apparently going to take a plea deal, the Boulder Camera says, but it's not clear if there will be reduced charges, light sentencing or what. From the article:

The next day, the man told detectives that he awoke to find the woman sleeping next to him with her shirt covered in blood and lotion, and a bottle of Lubriderm on a nearby table.

Marine reservists gives multiple reasons for clubbing priest

Now, he needs to pick the best one.

Jasen D. Bruce, who is accused of aggravated battery involivng a visiting Greek Orthodox priest, tried to defend his actions on Bubba The Love Sponge morning radio show today.

The list of reasons range from the priest allegedly grabbing his genitals and propositioning him to mistaking the priest an Arab terrorist and fearing for his life. Oh, Bruce also thought he was going to be robbed.

Hat Tip: Man in a Mission

| Bob Cronkleton

That's one way to get police response

And to get arrested...

Police said an East Texas man has outsmarted himself in trying to get a quicker response from officers to an alleged assault. Tyler police said 38-year-old Mark Anthony Johnson called 911 on Monday night and reported that he'd just committed a homicide and was armed with a weapon.

According to a Tyler police statement, several officers sped to the northwest Tyler location with lights flashing and sirens screaming. They found Johnson, who allegedly told them the homicide was a ruse to get a quicker response to what his real beef was, a simple assault complaint.

Indeed, the Tyler police did act quickly. They arrested Johnson and charged him with filing a false report. He's in the Smith County Jail with bond set at $3,000. A jail spokeswoman said she has no record of an attorney for him.

Hat Tip: Many Thanks Cripjak!

Professors behaving badly

The race relations conversation between two Columbia University employees probably began on an intellectual tone. But things degenerated and came to blows -- landing a woman a black eye and the architecture professor who punched her in jail.

Those involved were, in fact, of different races.

| Sara Shepherd

Another life-threatening shooting in KC

This one happened shortly before 2 p.m. at 46th Street and Chestnut Avenue.

| Sara Shepherd

Man charged in backhoe assault

The 48-year-old man told investigators he wanted to "nudge" the victim (who apparently wasn't digging his trench well enough), but didn't want to hurt him.

Hat Tip: Thank you, cripjak!

| Sara Shepherd

Chimp-attack victim going on Oprah

Remember the Connecticut woman who was brutally mauled by her friend's chimp, Travis? She's supposed to be on Oprah tomorrow.

| Sara Shepherd

Bar fight costs Miss England her crown

Rachel Christie has been accused of punching Sara Beverley Jones, a fellow beauty queen, after Jones showed a provocative message she claimed was from Christie's boyfriend.

From Metro:

The attack is alleged to have happened during a porn-themed party in the early hours of Monday, where Christie was dressed as an angel, and Jones was dressed as a cave woman.

The Sun has pictures of those involved.

Hat Tip to c8h10n4o2

| Bob Cronkleton

Duo poisoned salsa at Mexican restaurant, feds allege

The U.S. Attorney for Kansas has filed charges against two people for allegedly putting methomyl into the salsa at Mi Ranchito restaurant in Olathe on Aug. 11 and 30. The suspects are Arnoldo Bazan, 30, and Yini De La Torre, 19, a married couple from Shawnee. He worked at the Olathe Mi Ranchito and she was at the Lenexa location. Bazan allegedly blamed the restaurants' owner for losing his job and his car. The poisonings were allegedly planned as payback, the feds say.

Methomyl is an insectide, and it's very toxic to humans.

Man aims BB gun at neighbor's cat, hits neighbor instead, La. cops say

The best part:

While police were interviewing him that morning, Orellana, who doesn't speak English very well, kept saying "too many animals," McInnis said. Orellana showed officers where he hid the gun, the police report said.

UPDATE: Elderly man beaten outside grocery store

I remember seeing the man's face on TV last night. He really got worked over.

Cover your mouth -- or I will punch it

In New York, a woman reportedly was beaten up after she refused to cover her mouth while coughing. She probably didn't help matters by spitting at the woman who asked her to follow basic courtesy. So the second lady, sick of being polite, smacked her in the piehole. When the cougher tried to escape, the lady grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the subway car's floor, reports say.

Woman rammed other vehicle, threw salad dressing, Idaho cops say

What was the reason for the alleged road rage?

Wallace reportedly told police she was angry about something else before she began driving that day.

Men tried to run over black families outside Wal-Mart, Columbia cops say

The two men, who are white and siblings, went to the store to steal compressed air, so they could get high, police allege. One of them might be eligible for a hate-crime charge, depending on what prosecutors say.

More about Olathe shootout

The FBI is sending a team to investigate the incident Sunday night where a suspect got into a shootout with a bureau task force, which was trying to arrest him. (The investigation is just standard procedure.) Grace Hobson has a few more details about the case, including a quote from a nearby restaurant owner, who wasn't thrilled that it all happened right outside his business.

“In a neighborhood setting, to use that much force when so many people are around, I would hope it’s for something worth that kind of force,” Miller said.

An FBI spokeswoman says that officers are trained for these types of situations and never try to put the public's safety at risk.