Weird Criminal Law Stories # 693: Breast Laid Plans
CALIFORNIA: The headline read, “Breast laid plans?” We learn that six LA pranksters recently changed the landmark Hollywood sign to read “HollyBooB” for about an hour. The group, led by Julia Rose, 27, said they draped tarps with large “Bs” over the “W” and “D” mainly as a harmless prank.” Nevertheless, police charged them with trespassing. NEW YORK: Vandal judge out! The judge resigned after “keying” a town official’s car for denying his request for health insurance, according to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. Former Lewis County Justice Gregory Burker, who had held his position for two decades, was piqued over the town’s decision to deny him medical coverage, so he took out his frustration on an unnamed official’s
Weird Criminal Law Stories # 692: Man On The Rum?
FLORIDA: The headline read, “Man on the rum.” A drunken man was arrested stealing a floating wooden tiki-hut bar and using it as a makeshift boat in open water. US Coast Guards from Key West spotted the man slumped over the steering wheel of the octagonal wooden vessel, which has a thatched roof and a motor. GERMANY: Heranwachsenden Defense? It has reported recently that prosecutors have filed charges against a 91-year-old woman who they say helped carry out “the systematic killing on Jewish prisoners,” along with polish partisans and Russian prisoners of war. The woman, who testified against the Nazi camp’s commandant in the 1950s and now is subject to an investigation where she has been charged with 10,000 counts
Weird Criminal Law Stories # 691: He dug the steamy romance?
MEXICO: The headline read, “He dug the steamy romance.” A bricklayer, identified as Alberto, built an underground tunnel of love – to secretly visit his married paramour’s home in a Tijuana house according to a report. However, her husband caught the lover in the act – and chased Alberto through the tunnel to Alberto’s home where the men brawled. FLORIDA: The headline simply read, “a white Christmas?” We learn that fishermen found $850,000 worth of cocaine floating off Sugarloaf Key during Christmas week 2020. The fishing boat spotted the stash, consisting of 74 pounds of coke and called the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, according to a report from the Miami Herald. NEW MEXICO: Mystery theft and refurbishment? A man reported
Weird Criminal Law Stories #690: Dogged by Criticism?
BULGARIA: “Dogged by criticism?” Country officials have been “dogged” by criticism of their rollout of a first batch of COVID vaccines – via hotdog trucks. Citizens poked fun online at the weenie-mobiles, used with refrigerated vans, to deliver the 9,750 doses of the Pfizer shots which must be stored at a minus 94 degrees. “Bulgaria is not the only country where private logistics companies provide transportation,” responded the health minister. CALIFORNIA: We hear their luck ran out on them. Two men were arrested for breaking into a convenience store – and going directly for the lottery tickets, authorities said. Joseph Salcido, 46, and Hector Amparo, 47, allegedly broke the window of a Shell gas station stores in the town of
Weird Criminal Law Stories # 689: Kitty Napping?
AUSTRAILIA: Kitty napping, perhaps? An ex-soldier in full tactical gear allegedly burst into an animal shelter with an assault rifle and tied up a worker in a failed bid to get his kitten back. Tony Wittmann, 44, was so mad when workers at the Lost Dogs’ Home in Melbourne said he needed to wait a day to get his pet he allegedly menaced a 23-year-old employee with the gun. He left empty handed but was arrested and charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and attempted armed robbery. AUSTRAILIA: He could have really needed a drink! We learn that a clumsy bandit got stuck in a crevice under the roof of a pub while breaking in – forcing police to rescue and
Weird Criminal Law Stories # 688 Don’t Sled on the Dead!
GERMANY: “Don’t sled on the dead,” read the headline to this story. We learn that dummkopfs have been tobogganing over a graveyard at a former Nazi Concentration camp site in Germany, sparking outrage and a warning from management. The sledders zoomed down a hillside next to a mass grave in the Buchenwald memorial site in Weimar, where more than 56,000 people died between 1935 and 1943. “Disturbing the peace of the dead” is punishable by fine, management said. GERMANY: They say it was a jaw dropping heist! A cemetery worker in Wurzburg, swiped nearly a dozen sets of gold teeth from the deceased, police said. The thief is accused of robbing graves to get at least 20 pieces of gold,
Professor Birdsong received his J.D. from the Harvard Law School and his B.A. from Howard University. He teaches law in Orlando, Florida. After graduation from law school he worked several years with a large law firm. He then entered into a varied and distinguished career in government service. First serving as a diplomat with the State Department with various postings in Nigeria, Germany and the Bahamas. Professor Birdsong later served as a federal prosecutor. After leaving government service, Professor Birdsong was in private law practice. He has done on-air radio and TV legal analysis work for Fox News, CNN, Court TV and BET TV News. Currently, Professor Birdsong is occasionally invited to appear as a legal commentator on Fox Radio News, CBS Radio and MSNBC.