On this week’s Weird and Wacky Wednesday we look at the unbelievable plans of people trying to get away with crime. Nobody wants to get caught but when you have a poorly thought-out plan or don’t weigh the pros and cons of your actions, you will probably end up in the news like these folks.
Price check at register 1
We’ll start with a regular everyday situation that becomes obvious that the fellow in question was not paying close attention to his surroundings when he attempted to break the law.
In Kent, Washington, a 45-year-old man from Tacoma was arrested after attempting to leave a store without paying for a bottle of alcohol and two burritos. The incident occurred when Kent police officers, present in the store and standing in line behind the man, overheard the clerk’s demand for payment, which the man ignored as he headed for the exit. Upon refusal to halt at an officer’s command and realizing he was being detained by the police, the man pleaded for leniency but was denied.
Further checks revealed he had an outstanding warrant in Pierce County, and a search during his arrest found he had also pocketed burritos from the store. He was subsequently taken to Kent city jail.
I suppose we should be glad he committed his crime with police officers standing by. It may not have been part of his plan, but in a sense it works out for all involved.
The ink isn’t even dry on the obituary yet
In the next story, the people involved definitely paid attention and planned out their criminal attempt, but it looked like the script from Weekend at Bernies. In Ohio, two women, Karen Casbohm, 63, and Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, are facing charges after they allegedly transported the corpse of 80-year-old Douglas Layman to a bank in order to withdraw funds from his account. Following the withdrawal, they left his body at a hospital.
This incident led to charges of gross abuse of a corpse and theft against a protected individual. The police were alerted when the women anonymously left Layman’s body at Ashtabula County Medical Center. It was later revealed that both women lived with Layman, claiming they discovered him dead and, with another person’s help, decided to use his body to facilitate a bank withdrawal by making him appear alive to bank employees. This act was supposedly part of an attempt to pay some bills, though the police investigation continues, suggesting further charges might be brought. An autopsy to ascertain Layman’s cause of death is pending, with results expected in several months.
I have so many questions about this case. On the one hand I wonder how anyone could have planned something so stupid? As well, if Mr. Layman was found to have died of natural causes, does this become a victimless crime?
He’s done a runner down the drain!
Our last story definitely reminds you to look before you leap. An Australian man was extracted from a Brisbane drain network after hiding there for over 30 hours. When found he claimed he was retrieving his phone. Queensland police revealed that he had crashed his car into a police vehicle and fled to the underground to escape. The 38-year-old was discovered thanks to a passerby’s alert to authorities, following which he was rescued, showing signs of hypothermia and minor injuries. The incident began when the man, driving suspiciously, collided with a police car, leading to another accident that injured another driver, before he abandoned his vehicle and took to the drains on foot. Queensland police are now investigating his actions further.
One would think over 30 hours in a sewer could be considered punishment enough for the crime. Perhaps his plan wasn’t so bad after all?
