Bossy Robbers

Indianapolis police say three armed men who broke into a man’s apartment, stole his flat-screen TV, then forced him to help them move it down a flight of stairs. Police said 30-year-old Jason Geminden and his girlfriend were asleep when three masked men armed with handguns woke them up about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. The pair was forced to stay in the bed while the men ransacked the apartment, taking jewelry, electronics and car keys. At one point, one of the men ordered Geminden to get his butt out of bed and help carry his 32-inch TV down a flight of stairs. One of the suspects told the pair they wouldn’t be tied up because they were so helpful.

Woman Jailed For Calling 911 Seeking A Husband

An Alliance, Ohio, woman spent three days in jail for calling 911 five times looking for a husband. The flabbergasted dispatcher asked Audrey Scott, “You need to get a husband?” The 57-year-old Scott responded, “Yes.” Told that she could face arrest for misusing 911, Scott responded, “Let’s do it.” Scott was convicted last week of improper use of the 911 system and was sentenced to the three days in jail, which she has already served. Seven additional days will be suspended if she stays out of trouble for one year. Scott blamed the incident on alcohol.

Thief Returns Laptop

The guy who stole a laptop from an Athens, Tennessee, Staples store has apologized. Police say the man returned the computer three days after he stole it. The man called to apologize and said he was high on crack at the time. An employee at Staples says the remorseful thief has also agreed to pay for the security cable he cut. No charges have been filed.

Jail Trusty Uses Leg For Smuggling

Authorities in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, say a jail trusty used his prosthetic leg to smuggle contraband into the jail. The 42-year-old man was arrested and charged with introduction of contraband into a penal institution and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. The assistant chief deputy said during a routine check of trusties coming back to the facility last Friday, correctional officers discovered the contraband hidden in his prosthetic leg. Officers found bags of loose tobacco, 10 cigarettes, a container of smokeless tobacco and four Soma pills, a muscle relaxer.

Mayor Charged With Mixer Theft

A Southern California mayor is in hot water for stealing a mixer. Hawthorne Mayor Larry Guidi is charged with stealing a commercial-sized food mixer from a school district. Prosecutors say Guidi wanted to use the mixer to make dough to cook in his home pizza oven. According to authorities, the mayor was caught on surveillance video taking the giant mixer and a cart. Guidi has been mayor of Hawthorne for 17 years.

 

Mr. Potato Head – The Elvis Version

The Elvis Presley estate has inked a deal with Hasbro and PPW Toys to release an Elvis version of Mr. Potato Head. The first Elvis potato heads will be released during Elvis Tribute Week in August. The toy will be in a jumpsuit. A second version – with the likeness of Elvis dressed in black leather - will be on the market by Christmas.

Nude ‘Jesus’ Causes Accident

Police said a naked man yelling that he was “Jesus” was the catalyst for a five-vehicle accident on Interstate 95 North in Darien, Connecticut, that injured three people and slowed traffic for nearly six hours. Officers responded to reports Saturday that a nude male was causing a disturbance on I-95. The man got into a car and sped off when police arrived. That’s when the real problems began. A driver stopped to look at the scene unfolding, forcing a tractor trailer driver to slam on his brakes. The truck jackknifed, hitting several cars before flipping over and coming to rest against a tree. It took rescue workers three hours to free the big-rig driver. Officials said the injuries sustained in the crash were “relatively minor.” The naked man’s name was not released. It was not immediately known if he was charged.

Girl’s Skull Cracked By Line Drive

A 3-year-old girl in a crowd watching the Los Angeles Dodgers take batting practice was struck the head by a foul ball on Monday and was due to have surgery yesterday. Dodgers catcher Russell Martin was practicing 90 minutes before Monday night’s game when his hit hooked into the stands near third base. The ball hit the child with a sound that Martin said “did not sound good,” and she went down. The little girl was rushed, limp and unconscious, from the stadium immediately. Martin was teary and said he was “devastated” by the accident. The girl’s injury is not believed to be life-threatening but it was not clear if she would have any long-term disabilities, said Los Angeles Dodgers spokesman Joe Jareck.

Phillies Say Kid’s Beer Bottle Probably Empty

The Philadelphia Phillies said a beer bottle a small child appears to be drinking from in TV footage recorded in the stands was “probably empty.” Phillies spokeswoman Bonnie Clark said the team does not condone allowing children to drink beer, regardless of what the real story is behind the footage, which depicts a small boy – estimated to be about 3 or 4 – in the stands during Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres with what appears to be a beer bottle in his mouth. “We are not able to determine the identity of anyone involved, nor are we able to determine what was in the bottle or whether it was empty,” Clark said. Clark said the theory that the bottle was empty is supported by the fact that the child was holding it with only one hand, indicating it was not very heavy.

Couple Renews Vows After Seven Decades Of Marriage

Ellen and Walker Robinette got married in 1936 when she was 17 and he was 20. Ellen and Walker are still married over 70 years later and they recently celebrated their anniversary by renewing marriage vows in front of family and friends. Although Ellen now lives in a nursing home in Citrus Heights, California, Walker visits her every day. His advice for a long and happy marriage? “Be sure they love each other,” he said. “The rest of it will take care of itself.”

Barefoot Runner

A Talent, Oregon, man enjoyed a peppermint mineral foot soak while relaxing at home Monday. It was well deserved after Todd Ragsdale ran a world-record distance without shoes over the weekend. Between 8 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday, the 41-year-old logged 102 miles barefoot by taking 413 laps on the South Medford High School track. Ragsdale made his run in the Relay For Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The run left Ragsdale’s feet bruised, blistered and swollen, but he said it was well worth it.

Teacher Finds 1792 Document In Classroom

A Peabody, Massachusetts, fourth-grade teacher cleaning up her classroom discovered a Colonial-era document buried in a pile of outdated textbooks and dusty scraps of papers. Michelle Eugenio found the yellowed paper two weeks ago. Dated April 1792 and protected by plastic, it appears to document the payment of a debt by a Vermont man named Jonathan Bates. Peabody Historical Society President Bill Power verified the paper’s authenticity. No one knows how the paper ended up at Peabody’s Center School or how long it has been there. Bates served in the Continental Army in 1780 and died in 1808 at age 63. He’s buried in Williamstown, Vermont.

Firefighter Rap Goes Viral

A rap-inspired fireworks safety video created by three Michigan firefighters has gained thousands of YouTube views and found its way onto national television. The Midland Fire Department said firefighters Mark Laux, Roger Bebeau and Steve Makowski created the rap video about summer fireworks safety and posted it to YouTube last Wednesday, drawing attention from thousands of people, including CNN’s “Rick’s List” program, which named the clip one of the best video moments of the week. Lines include, “Being unsafe makes you think you’re cool, but follow these nine rules, don’t be a fool.”

Rest Area Bear

A Washington State rest stop on Highway 8 near Elma was closed overnight because of a sleeping black bear. The bruin was snoozin’ between the restrooms and the truck parking area. Transportation Department crews closed the rest stop after finding the animal. They let the sleeping bear catch its zzzzzzzz. It woke up Monday morning and wandered off. The rest stop was then reopened.

Business Offers $1,000 For Stolen Doormat

A Washington state business is offering a $1,000 reward to catch a thief who took a doormat worth about $20. The owners of Advanced Metal Technologies in Spokane are angry and want to catch the man who may be looking to break into the business. Surveillance video shows the thief drove up about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, looked in the window and then grabbed the doormat.

Bee Thief

A northeast Florida beekeeper is under arrest after deputies say he stole bees, honey and equipment from his competitors. Ruben Josey was arrested Thursday in Putnam County after deputies said they recovered 48 stolen beehives and other goods worth thousands of dollars. The hives were reported stolen in December and January in Putnam and surrounding counties and possibly Georgia. Local beekeepers said they had become increasingly suspicious Josey was the thief and gathered evidence against him. Each hive has a state registration number. Josey was charged with dealing stolen property and larceny. He was being held Saturday on $50,000 bond.

Man Lends Car To Stranger, Claims Carjacking

Daytona Beach police said a 33-year-old man lent his truck to a stranger to make a beer run – then told cops he was carjacked. Officials said the man called police on May 27th to say two men, possibly armed, ordered him out of the truck while stopped at a light at 4 a.m. Police reviewed video taken by a camera at the intersection and found nothing. When investigators confronted the alleged victim, he confessed he had lent the truck to a man he’d met while drinking at a motel. He said the man said he wanted to get more beer, but never returned. He told police he lied about the carjacking because he was embarrassed. He was charged with making a false police report.

Bear Shuts Down Traffic

A Southern California freeway was briefly shut down while state wildlife officials tried to remove a bear that wandered into the roads. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Kerry Carter says the adult black bear was spotted just after midnight yesterday on surface streets near the Foothill Freeway in Duarte. The animal later walked onto the freeway, which was closed for about a half hour. Fish and Game Department workers were eventually able to corner the bear in a flood control channel, where they tranquilized it with a dart gun. The bear, estimated at 250 pounds, was taken to a remote forest area and release.

Happy Birthday Times Three

Three generations of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, women all share the same birthday. Little Roxie Koep was born on June 1st. She shares the birthday with her 29-year-old mother Rachel Koep and 56-year-old maternal grandmother Paula Ballanger. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the chance of a mother having the same birthday as one of her parents and her newborn is 1 in 133,225. The chance of them all having the same gender is even more remote. Koep and her daughter not only share the same birthday, but they were also both born at the North Memorial hospital. Ballanger was born in 1954 at what used to be Maternity Hospital, about a mile south of North Memorial.

Mail Trap

A woman making a stop to pick up her mail from a post office in Willis, Michigan, ended up trapped inside for four hours because of a door malfunction. The post office was closed Thursday evening when the woman stopped by but the post office box area was open. After she went inside to get her mail, she couldn’t get out. Another woman saw her and called 911. A Postal Service spokeswoman said something in the mechanical mechanism on the door prevented it from opening. She said the woman was “understanding” about the “unfortunate fluke.”