Out of cell phone minutes, man decides to call 911 to seek sex

Joshua Basso, 29, of Tampa says he wanted sex, but was out of minutes on cell phone.

So for fun, he decided to dial the only number he could -- 911. Once the 911 operator answered, Basso made several sexual comments about her before asking if he could go to her house and have sex with her.

Let's just say police were not amused.

Hat Tip: Keith G. in P.V

| Bob Cronkleton

The chocolate sale flopped last year

So a brilliant parent-entrepreneur thought it would be a great idea to sell test points.

A parent council at a middle school in North Carolina is selling 20 test points for $20 to raise money this year. The principle justified it by saying it's not enough points to change a grade.

Others are saying that it's teaching the students the wrong lessons. Hm... yes, I should think so.

'It's all fun & games until the cops show up'

...and you're arrested and mugged wearing a T-shirt that says "It's all fun & games until the cops show up."

Joann Nelson of St.Joseph pleaded guilty Monday to a three-day spree in which she drove her teenage son and his friend around so they could vandalize homes and cars all over town. 

Sidenote: A bailiff removed Nelson's boyfriend from the court after his cell phone rang in the middle of proceedings. The boyfriend's attire? A Larry Johnson Chief's jersey.

Hat Tip to FanDanGo! I called this morning to get this mug, and St. Joe police finally came through a minute ago. Worth the wait!

| Sara Shepherd

Mini Me is in trouble

The actor best known for his role as Mini Me in the Austin Powers films has been banned from going near or contacting his former girlfriend.

A judge has issued a restraining order after Yvette Monet, 25, claimed that after they split up, Troyer, 40, sent abusive and threatening e-mails.

From the UK Telegraph:

"I have moved on, [but] he keeps emailing me, calling me and texting me awful messages like 'I hope God is with you'... Calling me names like hooker," Monet wrote in a court declaration obtained by E! News. 

Hat tip to cripjak

| Bob Cronkleton

Opera diva creates her own drama

Gabriela Pochinki is facing 90 days in jail for allegedly berating and shoving a restaurant manager who asked the Argentine opera diva to pipe down while on her cell phone.

While dining with her daughter Sunday afternoon, Pochinki was talking loudly with someone on the speaker phone. After getting complaints by other patrons, the restaurant manager asked the soprano to quiet down.

After the restaurant manager asked the two to leave for the fourth time, Pochinki then allegedly shoved her.

| Bob Cronkleton 

Some things, like explosives, better left to the authorities to handle

A South Carolina man appears to be very lucky. He discovered that his uncle had collected explosive materials including grenades, dynamite and black powder.

After his uncle's death, the man drove 80 miles to his uncle's house, loaded up his truck and drove back home to give the items to police. Seems he didn't want the explosives to fall into the wrong hands.

| Bob Cronkleton

Bicyclist hit in Lawrence last night

A bicyclist was hit in Lawrence shortly before the pedestrian in the Northland was hit.

|Meredith Rodriguez

One person, possibly pedestrian critically injured in crash

From Sarah Shepherd: One person was critically injured in an overnight wreck on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, North. The wreck happened about 4:45 a.m. today in the northbound lanes of the highway near Northeast 53rd Street. There were at least two vehicles involved, and one of the injured people may have been a pedestrian, according to preliminary information from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which was investigating the crash.

|Meredith Rodriguez

Monkey pushes woman off cliff after she won't share food

The monkey at China’s Chengdu Wildlife Park allegedly flew into a rage after Zhou Juchang, 60, refused to give up the bag of monkey food. Her tour guide had recommended she buy the food.

The woman's mistake was showing fear."If you show fear, a monkey will bully you," a park spokesman told London's Metro.

Something to remember.

Hat Tip: R2D2

| Bob Cronkleton

Dog cited for illegal parking

Yes in Australia, you can illegally park you dog. That's what an elderly woman found out after she tied her dog to a fence, gave him a bowl full of water and then headed into a shopping center.

A traffic warden wrote a warning notice and taped it to the dog's lead.

| Bob Cronkleton

Honolulu city leaders want only clean smelling riders on public transit

The Associated Press

| Bob Cronkleton

Joco deputies, Olathe officers arrest 40 during warrant sweep

From the Johnson County Sheriff Department:

Sheriff’s Deputies and Olathe Police Officers netted a record 40 arrests, clearing 46 warrants during a one day warrant sweep in the City of Olathe on Wednesday.

Of the 40 people arrested, 24 were males and 16 were female. The warrant arrests included three felonies, 13 misdemeanor arrests, 14 civil violations, 12 municipal warrants, two Juvenile cases and two out of state warrants, one from Texas and one from Missouri. In addition two people were additionally charged with obstruction of justice.

Man fires cannonball into neighbor's house

William Maser, 54, of Georges Township, Pa., is claiming it was an accident. He is a history buff who recreates firearms. he fired the cannon and the cannonball ricocheted, striking a house 400 yards away.

The cannonball smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet.

| Bob Cronkleton

People "acting childish" leads to melee in Westport

Isn't that how a lot of melees begin? Police arrest seven people and one person taken to the hospital. From KCTV-5.

| Bob Cronkleton

Nude model arrested at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art

The photographer she was posing for, contends that to consider their work public lewdness is absurd in a setting where nude art is everywhere.

|Meredith Rodriguez

Judge upholds $102 million damage award for FBI scapegoats

A federal appeals court upheld a landmark award for four men who were framed by the FBI in a slaying.

The wrongly convicted: Peter Limone, now 75, spent more than 33 years in prison for the 1965 murder. Joseph Salvati, now 76, was in prison for more than 29 years. Louis Greco and Henry Tameleo died in prison.

The FBI deliberately withheld evidence of the four men's innocence, a lower court judge found in 2007. They protected the real murderers, because they were key informants against the Mafia at the time.

|Meredith Rodriguez

Girl abducted 18 years ago walks into northern California police station

She said she is Jaycee Dugard, a girl who was abducted in 1991. She was last seen at age 11 walking to a bus stop in South Lake Tahoe. Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender, and his wife Nancy Garrido have been charged in connection with the abduction.

Hat Tip: Many Thanks T-Bone!

|Meredith Rodriguez

Miami police officer steals Crime Stoppers TIPS money

An 11-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police force stole $15,000 in reward money that was supposed to go to people who called in tips to Crime Stoppers, the FBI found.

|Meredith Rodriguez

Education task force recommends a ban on paddling in Arizona

Apparently 20 states, mostly from the South and Southeast, still use corporal punishment along with Arizona.

The school board people are saying that it's not used anyway even thought it's allowed. But the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights found 13 students were paddled in Arizona in 2006, according to its most recent survey. They could have been paddled multiple times, and the schools aren't required to keep track and report when it's used.

The task force says corporal punishment doesn't redirect the child like other forms of "positive techniques."

|Meredith Rodriguez

Update on man who died after falling into vat of melting chocolate

The cocoa processing plant in Camden, N.J., apparently was operating illegally because it did not have a business license.

The city cited Lyons & Sons Inc. for not having the license. Vincent Smith II died Wednesday after falling into the vat and being hit by a mixing paddle.

The company called the issue of operating without a business license a misunderstanding.

| Bob Cronkleton

California Supreme Court says Breathalyzer accuracy can vary

Saying that Breathalyzer test results can vary from person to person, the California Supreme Court has ruled that suspected drunken drivers can attack the accuracy of the test results in court.

Prosecutors say this will undermine California drunken driving cases, but defense attorneys praise the court for deferring to science.

Arizona and Vermont courts have made similar rulings.

| Bob Cronkleton

Leave that super hero costume behind when vising New York City

A comic-book adventure didn't go as planned for two men dressed as Batman and Superman who had a run-in with police in New York's Times Square.

The two had dressed up as the super heroes for laughs. Things turned bad when police asked if they had a license to perform in costume in public.

From the story:

"The Man of Steel didn't go down with just two officers, it took seven officers!" witness Ryan McCormick said. "He was putting up a good fight. Little kids were like, 'Mommy, it's Superman!' "

| Bob Cronkleton

Family doesn't know why hit-and-run victim was walking along highway at 3 a.m.

The family of Christopher Lyons, 21, does not know why he was walking along Kansas 18 near the Ottawa and Lincoln county line early Sunday.

He was struck and killed as he walked with a dog.

Niles Wise faces a single count of felony obstruction for allegedly concealing the car believed to have struck Lyons. The investigation continues.

| Bob Cronkleton

 

Missouri man with ties to white supremacists held without bond

Robert N. Joos of rural McDonald County, Mo., is being held without bond on a charge of being a felon in possession of firearms.

A search of Joos' property found more than a dozen firearms, blasting caps, gunpowder and fuses.

Joos allegedly has ties to twin brothers, Dennis and Daniel Mahon, who have been charged in a racially motivated Arizona bombing.

Hat-tip to Kathee.

| Bob Cronkleton

Juror threatens to cut off finger of another juror

Jury deliberations can be heated -- just look to a federal case in New York where a juror accused another one of threatening to cut off his finger.

The jury is deliberating the fate of a lawyer accused of involvement in the fraud of collapsed Refco Finance Holdings LLC, a commodities broker.

A request for a mistrial by defense counsel was denied. The jury continues to deliberate Thursday.

| Bob Cronkleton