weird crimes

Read odd news stories and other latest weird crimes news from around the world on Newser.com

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

Boy Banned From Amusement Park, the Hard Way

NC amusement park has to rescue 13-year-old stuck in claw machine

(Newser) - The 13-year-old boy had his eyes on the prize, but the problem that amusement park officials had was that he had his body inside the claw machine in his attempt to swipe it. Officials at Carowinds park in North Carolina found the unnamed teenager trapped in a claw machine, which...

At an Apple Store, a Brazen $500K Burglary

Burglars cut a hole in a bathroom wall of neighboring store at Washington state mall

(Newser) - Some Washington state criminals have apparently been watching a little too much Ocean's Eleven. As KOMO reports, police are still searching for burglars who burgled their way into an Apple Store in a most unusual way. The culprits cut through the bathroom wall of Seattle Coffee Gear in Alderwood...

Woman, 78, With 2 Past Robbery Convictions in Trouble Again

Authorities: Bonnie Gooch's note to teller at bank she robbed said, 'I didn't mean to scare you'

(Newser) - A 78-year-old woman with two past bank robbery convictions faces new charges after authorities allege she handed a teller a note that said, "I didn't mean to scare you" during a recent Missouri heist, per the AP . Bonnie Gooch is jailed on $25,000 bond after she was...

Eating Like This Got 2 Men Arrested
Eating Like This
Got 2 Men Arrested
in case you missed it

Eating Like This Got 2 Men Arrested

It's the latest story of alleged 'sushi terrorism' in Japan

(Newser) - A man dipped his used chopsticks into a communal bowl of pickled ginger at a restaurant in Osaka, Japan—and he and a friend have been arrested for it. The Guardian reports that it's the latest development in the wave of "sushi terrorism" that has emerged in Japan....

Giant Stolen Spoon Is Found—by a Pokemon Player

It's all true, after thieves plundered a Dairy Queen in Arizona

(Newser) - A giant red spoon that was stolen from an Arizona Dairy Queen and sparked a mystery on social media was found Monday morning, and it's partly thanks to Pokémon GO. Michael Foster, 52, was playing the outdoor mobile game when he spotted the 15-foot spoon around 7am. It...

Duo Allegedly Cut Cables, Took 40K People Offline

2 suspects arrested in Connecticut incident

(Newser) - More than 40,000 customers in the Norwalk, Connecticut, area lost internet service March 24, and police say two people are to blame. Jillian Nicole Person, 30, and Austin Keith Geddings, 26, both of North Carolina, were arrested April 1 after a surveillance operation, WTNH reports. Person was taken into...

Italian Driver, 80, Had Trick to Dodge Tolls

Authorities say he traveled for free for 2 years by squeezing through behind other drivers

(Newser) - Highway authorities in Italy are not amused by the antics of an 80-year-old retirement home resident who loves traveling as much as he hates paying tolls. Mario—nicknamed "nonno Mario," meaning "grandfather Mario"—is accused of dodging more than $4,300 in highway tolls by tailgating...

Ambulance Patient Turns Into Ambulance Driver

New York state police finally stop his joyride with tire spikes

(Newser) - It's not your typical ambulance ride. Authorities said a patient stole the one that had taken him to a New York City hospital and took it on a 25-mile joy ride that ended when state police used a spike strip to stop him, reports the AP . The bizarre incident...

'AK-47' That Prompted Panic Was Something Very Different

Police in New South Wales, Australia, say 'weapon' they found in car was actually just a bong

(Newser) - There was a bit of panic in Australia this week, after Sydney locals reported the sighting of a man carrying a frightening-looking assault rifle—but all was not what it seemed. The BBC reports that 911 calls started pouring in late Wednesday afternoon from the northwest side of the city,...

33 Swimmers Accused of Harassing Hawaii Dolphins

They've been referred to law enforcement

(Newser) - Hawaii authorities on Tuesday say they have referred 33 people to US law enforcement after the group allegedly harassed a pod of wild dolphins in waters off the Big Island, the AP reports. It's against federal law to swim within 50 yards of spinner dolphins in Hawaii’s nearshore...

FTC Warns of 'Terrifying' Phone Scam Driven by AI

Agency says voice cloning can make caller sound like a loved one begging for money

(Newser) - Many of us have heard of the old hoax in which victims receive phone calls from "police" or a "doctor" (actually scammers) saying that a loved one is in trouble and needs money sent stat. Now, in what NPR says "sounds like a plot from a science...

He Once Wooed on the Soaps. Now, a 'Bizarre' Crime

Forbes March, who played Scott Chandler on 'All My Children,' is accused of stealing cooking oil

(Newser) - It's still early, but Soaps.com is already calling this "the most bizarre crime you're likely to read about this week." It involves Forbes March, a 49-year-old former soap opera veteran who's starred in such programs as All My Children, As the World Turns, and...

Victim Recognized His Robber Instantly

Masked man told his son he was desperate

(Newser) - A man trying to rob a teenager at an ATM in Scotland didn't recognize his victim right away as he pressed a knife against his neck, but the 17-year-old wasn't fooled by the mask. "Are you serious?" he asked his father. "Do you know who this...

Utah Bank Robber Requested Unusual Amount of Cash

Donald Santacroce allegedly demanded a single dollar

(Newser) - A Utah man who desired to be sent to federal prison carried out a polite bank robbery in pursuit of that goal, police say. Per a police booking affidavit, Donald Santacroce, 65, was arrested Monday morning after allegedly handing a teller at a Wells Fargo in downtown Salt Lake City...

Zoo Volunteer Allegedly Stole Baby Gator—20 Years Ago

Tewa is back home after theft was uncovered in Central Texas, authorities say

(Newser) - An alligator, stolen as an egg or hatchling from a Texas zoo two decades ago, is back in the first home she knew. The 8-foot alligator named Tewa was returned to Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo in New Braunfels on Friday, months after she was located on rural property...

NYPD Makes an Easy Arrest After Police Cars Vandalized

Alleged New York City vandal was wearing the same clothes when he came to report stolen car

(Newser) - On Friday, somebody slashed the tires of seven police cars outside a stationhouse in Queens, New York. Police released surveillance images and asked for the public's help in identifying the man "clad in a brown hat, multi-colored jacket, and black pants," per the Daily News . On Sunday,...

Cops: Man Took Truck for Unusually Long Test Drive

He was arrested inside an Atlantic City casino, 40 miles away from the dealership

(Newser) - A New Jersey man who apparently gambled on not getting caught took a new pickup truck for a test drive and was arrested at a casino almost 40 miles away. Police in Stafford Township say Jason DeAngelo, 47, took a 2023 white GMC Sierra from a dealership around 11am Saturday...

He Pulled Over Countless Drivers. He Wasn&#39;t a Cop
He Pulled Over Countless
Drivers. One Big Problem
longform

He Pulled Over Countless Drivers. One Big Problem

Narratively explores the tale of 'notorious police impersonator' Jeremy Dewitte

(Newser) - The thing of it is, the business idea itself wasn't a bad one. In the early 2010s, Jeremy Dewitte launched a company called Metro State to provide escorts for funerals in Florida. But as Dylan Taylor-Lehman writes at Narratively , things got seriously out of hand. As in, Dewitte would...

These Robbers Are Both Under 40
These Robbers
Are Both Under 40

These Robbers Are Both Under 40

Police say London brothers wore 'extremely lifelike' old men masks during crime

(Newser) - Two brothers who robbed a jewelry store in England were arrested after police spotted the faces of the suspects—in the trunk of their car. George Murphy-Bristow, 38, and Benjamin Murphy, 37, wore masks that made them look like old men when they robbed the store in Epping, Essex, in...

After Theft of 200K Cadbury Creme Eggs, So Many Puns

The 'eggs-travagent theft' was foiled

(Newser) - It's a crime that can't be discussed without resorting to puns. Police near Birmingham, England, foiled what they say was an "eggs-travagent theft" on Saturday: the theft of some 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs. "West Mercia Police has helped save Easter" they announced Monday on Twitter...

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