It's a Boy! 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

An enthusiastic dad-to-be and a lesson about confronting a chef over his food are among the stranger police-blotter items this week:

• Couple's Gender Reveal Lands Them in Trouble: Creative gender reveals are all the rage with parents-to-be—but it's not often they result in the possibility of jail time. Jon Sterkel, 26, used a rifle to shoot an exploding target loaded with blue chalk on his Nebraska farm to let the world know he was having a son. The sheriff's office received calls, and Sterkel is now facing a fine and a year in jail for setting off an explosive without a state permit—and his kid might get an appropriate name.
• Chef Throws Chili Powder at Diner: A diner who complained about his "tough and rubbery" food at a curry house in Wales ended up being hospitalized to have chili powder washed out of his eye. David Evans exchanged words with chef Kamrul Islam at the table where he was eating, then followed the chef back to the kitchen, only to be met with the unpleasant puff of powder to the face. The chef faces assault charges, but he's got his own version of events.

• Instead of Breaking Into the House, They Broke the House: So you want to break in to a house, but you don't know how to pick locks or bust windows. No problem. Just gain access to a tractor and bust down a wall. That's what police say a thief or thieves did in northwestern Germany. Once inside, they seemed to know what they were looking for, too.
• Boy's Shopping Quest Becomes High-Speed Chase: "It appears he wanted to go shopping." That's what Ohio police say was the motive behind a 10-year-old boy's alleged 11-mile jaunt behind the wheel of his parents' vehicle. Only after the vehicle slammed into a curb, knocking off a wheel, did a pursuing officer notice the driver was a child; police say he'd been on the hunt for one specific item.
• Fake Fire Alarm Wakes Up a Team: Police say a 25-year-old man from East Boston pulled the fire alarm at the Logan Airport Hilton Saturday night, which is notable considering that's where the Pittsburgh Steelers were sleeping in preparation for Sunday's game against the Patriots. Dennis Harrison is charged with setting off a false fire alarm and disturbing the peace—and his Patriots are now preparing for the Super Bowl.

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