Fridge-raiding burglary suspect caught drawing bath at Celine Dion's home

Canadian Daniel Bedard, 36, faces charges of breaking and entering, auto theft and causing property damage after he broke into Celine Dion's home near Montreal.

He allegedly raided a refrigerator and was drawing a bath when police interrupted him.

He greated police by asking, "Hey, guys what are you doing here?"

| Bob Cronkleton

This crime is for the birds

A man wanted to get a close-up of a seagull with his GoPro digital camera.

The bird, let's say, had another idea.

|Bob Cronkleton

Police arrest man accused of bathtub scam

Michael Edward Ragsdale, 45, of Irvine, Calif., is being held on suspicion of burglary, financial elder abuse and grand theft.

He allegedly would target the elderly by promising to install walk-in bathtubs.

|Bob Cronkleton

 

Tip: Don't pocket-dial 911 when plotting next crime

Thomas Euson Jr., 28, of Syracuse, N.Y., was sentenced today to five years of probation for felony grand larceny.

He was caught after a 911 call center overheard him, his brother and cousin discuss plans for a burglary spree.

|Bob Cronkleton

Homeless man charged with stealing electricity to charge cellphones

Shawn Fawster, 23, was arrested in Bangor, Maine, after police discovered him using an outdoor outlet that was hidden behind flowers to charge two cellphones.

| Bob Cronkleton

Man accused of hiding in tanks of portable toilet to spy on women

30-year-old Luke Chrisco faces eight counts of second-degree burglary, all felonies, and two misdemeanor counts of unlawful sexual contact and criminal invasion of privacy.

| Bob Cronkleton

73-year-old man gets 18 years for $18.5 million Ponzi scheme

The Mooresville, N.C. man promised his investors, who were mostly elderly, exorbitant returns on their investments.

He ran the Ponzi scheme from 2004 to 2008 and promised his investors that the money would be used to help private companies go public.

| Bob Cronkleton

A case for knowing your neighbors

A neighbor checking out a burglarized house in western Indiana discovered the body of a 44-year-old man. It appears that the man died in 2009.

No one had checked on the man for some time (obviously) and neighbors had assumed the house was abandoned and vacant.

| Bob Cronkleton

Man needs ride home, steals fire engine

Maybe next time Andre Marcellos Newsome will just called a cab.

The 38-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stealing a fire engine from outside a south Sacramento fire station.

Newsome, who had just been released from a medical facility where he was being treated for a mental disorder, was walking past the fire station and saw the fire engine parked outside.

California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Aston said Newsome "figured a fire engine was as good as any other vehicle he could take."

| Bob Cronkleton

Robber has change of heart after learning victim is homeless

Larry A. Sanderson II, 22, was walking out of a York City, Pa., homeless shelter when an armed robber approached and demanded that he empty his pockets.

After Sanderson turned over his wallet, cell phone, MP3 player, cigarettes and lighter, the robber asked if that is all he had.

Sanderson told the robber he lives in the shelter. "I can respect that," the robber responded and then returned the items.

| Bob Cronkleton

Commander of Canada’s biggest air force base pleads guilty to 2 murders

David Russell Williams pleaded guilty to murdering two women.

But that was just the begining of the crimes he committed. It took 36 minutes to read all the charges he faced. In addition to the murders, he admitted to two sexual assaults that involved forcible confinement, and 82 break ins.

From The Toronto Star:

By day, Russell Williams was the commander of Canada’s biggest air force base, CFB Trenton. By night, he broke into homes, taking pictures of himself modeling the bras and panties of little girls.

He escalated quickly, from fetish break-ins, to sex assaults with no penetration to rape and murder. He logged his crimes, kept track of police reports of his crimes and left notes and messages for his victims.

And story from the Winnipeg Free Press.

Hat tip to Keith G. in P.V.

| Bob Cronkleton

80-year-old woman hiding in closet helps catch burglars

An 80-year-old woman in Kensington, N.H., helped catch two burglary suspects after she hid in her closet and called 911 when a man pounded on her door and attempted to force the door open.

Police suspect that Andrew W. Welch, 24, and Cassie Randall, 19, both of Seabrook, N.H., might be responsible for a series of robberies the past several months.

| Bob Cronkleton

Homeless men tried to set up parking scam before Tampa Bay playoff game

The three men set up shop at a vacant garage near Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., and were holding signs advertising parking for $20.

Police, who quickly discovered the scam before anyone parked there, said the owner of the garage didn't know what was happening and hadn't granted permission.

| Bob Cronkleton

Update video: Burglarly suspect looks like Swamp Thing and Cousin Itt had a baby

| Bob Cronkleton

Coffee helps thwart crime spree

A morning crime spree in Portland, Maine, that included an attempt to steal an ambulance ended shortly after a McDonald's clerk doused the assailant with hot coffee as he tried to steal a cash register.

Although the man fled, he was caught when he jumped into a car but the driver refused to go.

| Bob Cronkleton

Baby tiger found stuffed in suitcase

The tiger cub had been drugged and hidden among stuffed animals.

| Bob Cronkleton

Two men arrested for shoplifting during "Shop with a Cop" event

The two men figured that the 60 or so uniformed officers would be distracted by the 160 children during the "Shop With a Cop" back-to-school event where the children pick out clothing and school supplies for the approaching school year.

Heck there was even a clown there.

However, Shane Alexander, 20, of Hillsboro, Ore., and Jason Vantress, 30, of Southeast Portland, Ore., caught the attention of police as they moved from aisle to aisle "picking through goods, cutting tags off and loading up their backpacks with blenders, shoes, clothes and tools."

Hat-tip to cripjak

| Bob Cronkleton

A big leap

A Kansas City mom jumped out her third-story window -- with her 2-year-old son -- to escape two armed home invaders. It happened Tuesday in the 1300 block of Vine, Christine reports.

| Sara Shepherd

Community service for underwear thief

From the UK, where the victim helped nab the 'knicker' thief by setting up a camera in her yard -- where someone had been stealing unmentionables from the clothesline.

| Sara Shepherd

Paris Hilton escapes burglar with 'knifes'

Police have confirmed they arrested a man at Hilton's Los Angeles home Tuesday morning, after the socialite alleged a stranger tried to break in.

She tweeted about the incident: "So scary, just got woken up to a guy trying to break into my house holding 2 big knifes (sic). Cops are here arresting him."

| Sara Shepherd

Burglar's tattoo leads to arrest

I'm sure pulling his shirt up over his face seemed like a good idea at first.

| Sara Shepherd

CSI: Family vacation

So, these people unwisely left a bag full of their belongings on the steps behind them to pose for a family vacation photo.

But when they found the bag missing, at least they thought to check the photo -- bingo!

| Sara Shepherd

Wis. teen arrested, handcuffed for stealing chicken nuggets

A 15-year-old was arrested, handcuffed and hauled off to police headquarters after he allegedly stole a chicken nugget meal, valued at $2.60, from the school cafeteria, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. The charges were later dropped.

Mo. parolee found living in Okla. woods

Near Catoosa, Okla., authorities arrested Kristan Standish, a convicted felon from the Kansas City area, in connection with a home burglary. Standish, 45, had apparently living in the woods. What's interesting is what he was caught with:

The man told deputies that he had been staying in area shelters but deputies observed several items which appeared out of place for a transient to carry which included bolt cutters, a ear-tagger for cattle and a pellet injector which is also used for raising cattle. The deputies also located items which the burglary victim had described as missing.

Also in the man’s possession were several items which appeared to belong to the Burlington Northern Santa-Fe railroad including gloves, marked safety vests and a gas card which belonged to the railroad.

The Missouri D.O.C. lists Standish as being on parole. He went away for robbery, assault and attempted escape. So, D.O.C., if you were looking for Standish, we've found him ...

Stolen ring returned after 28 years

A woman in Auburn, Maine, has gotten her high-school class ring back, about 28 years after it was stolen. Someone found it a few years ago and just recently tracked the woman down via Facebook.