Curses, foiled again
William Pace said Johnnie Butts approached him at a grocery store in Randolph, Mass., and offered to sell him a bracelet and chain stamped as 14-karat gold for $100. Pace immediately recognized the gold was fake by its look and feel because he owns a jewelry store. He’s also Randolph’s chief of police and arrested Butts for attempted larceny by false pretense. (Quincy’s The Patriot Ledger)
How government works
Following the deluge of leaked documents by WikiLeaks, senior officials at various U.S. government agencies received a classified memo outlining the government’s strategy to prevent further leaks. The 11page document was promptly leaked to MSNBC.
(TechSpot.com)
Explosive sex
Authorities in Waseca, Minn., charged Terry Allen Lester, 37, with making an explosive device and hiding it in a sex toy. Lester left the sex toy at an apartment where he’d been staying with two women, who became suspicious after he left and called police. According to the criminal complaint, Lester put gunpowder, BB shot and buckshot from shotgun shells inside the sex toy with black and red wires that connected to a trigger from a cordless drill. The complaint went on to say that Lester planned to give the modified sex toy to a woman who had ended her relationship with him. (Waseca County News)
Human Yule Log
Jason Leblanc, 44, a veteran firefighter in Apopka, Fla., resigned after being charged with setting fellow firefighter Jack Shumate, 25, on fire at a Christmas party. Police Officer Steve Popp said Leblanc allegedly poured lighter fluid on the victim’s legs and ignited it, causing second-degree burns. (Orlando Sentinel)
BFF Follies
Authorities accused Marc Higgins of fatally stabbing his Facebook friend Matthew Walton and wounding three others at a party in Bristol, Conn., after a female guest objected to his repeated flatulence and slapped his face. He stormed out of the house, telling police later that he “decided to return to the party and stab everyone in the house.” According to the police report, minutes after police received a report of multiple stabbings at the party, Higgins appeared at the police station, saying repeatedly, “I did it,” “I need help” and “They deserved it.” The report said he admitted stabbing “his friend Matt” and the others because “they just happened to be the first people he saw when he returned.” (The Bristol Press)
Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.