Curses, foiled again
Authorities investigating a home invasion in Riverview, Fla., had no trouble identifying one of the suspects after the victims told them he had an outline of the state of Florida tattooed on his face and the words “Crazy Cracker” either tattooed or written on his head. The Tampa Tribune said Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies quickly arrested Sean Roberts, 19, whose alias is “Crazy Cracker.”
Mensa reject of the week
Michael R. Brandt, 41, suffered burns and totaled his car in a parking lot in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after lighting a cigarette while sitting next to a full propane tank.
Litigation nation
The family of Alexa Longueira announced plans to file a lawsuit after the New York City teenager fell into an open sewer manhole while walking down a Staten Island street text messaging. Fox News reported Longueira suffered mild cuts and bruises. Her mother said it doesn’t matter that her daughter was text messaging and not paying attention to where she was walking; the manhole should not have been left uncovered.
Economic stimulus
A Berlin brothel began offering discounts to customers who arrive on bicycles. “The recession has hit our industry hard,” Thomas Goetz, owner of La Maison d’Envie, told Reuters. “Obviously we hope that the discount will attract more people. It’s good for business, it’s good for the environment, and it’s good for the girls.”
Don’t blame me
After Catherine Stotts, 62, injured a highway worker while driving in a closed lane during a repaving operation, she told California Highway Patrol officers she was driving in the wrong lane because she was “not used” to driving on new asphalt. She added she thought the 60-year-old victim could have jumped out of her way faster.
Solid defense
Robert P. Trout, defense attorney for former Louisiana congressman William J. Jefferson, sought to redeem his client by arguing at his corruption trial in Alexandria, Va., that Jefferson isn’t a criminal, just “stupid.” The Washington Post reported Trout told jurors that the high-profile case, which included the FBI’s finding $90,000 in bribe money in Jefferson’s freezer, has made Jefferson, who faces up to 235 years for the various counts against him, basically “a national joke.”
Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Submit items, citing date and source, to P.O. Box 8130, Alexandria VA 22306.
