This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we look at how things in your life can go horribly wrong all over tomatoes. And that actually covers two separate stories. Then, we examine the crime of dining and dashing and look at what it takes to get a spot in one of the best dine and dash cases of all time, in my opinion.
Follow the jump to learn more about this week’s weirdest and wackiest legal cases.
Fried Chicken Threats
Sometimes the police have to remind citizens not to do something that, to most people, seems so obviously stupid that they would never do it. And frequently this involves people who call 911 to report issues that are not emergencies.
In one recent case, Peel Regional Police even went so far as to share an audio clip of the 911 call that precipitated their public announcement. The clip was of a man who called 911 to report that he was being threatened at a fried chicken restaurant. On its face, that sounds like a decent reason to phone 911.
That is until you hear that the so-called threat was that the restaurant messed up his order and put tomatoes on his sandwich.
Apparently, the man is allergic to tomato and rather than just have the sandwich remade, he decided to contact the authorities. And for anyone who is wondering in the future, the charge of uttering threats does not include a mistake in a food order. The threat must be real, and not imaginary.
Tomato Crime
Speaking of tomatoes… there are circumstances in which tomatoes can lead to legitimate criminal charges.
Nineteen-year-old Katie Gates is not your typical teenager. She wants to eat her vegetables. In fact, she wants to eat her vegetables so badly, she started a fight after she was denied another serving of tomatoes at her family dinner. At first, it was typical bad teenage behaviour: she threw a fit and then threw a water bottle at her grandfather and a pack of cigarettes at another family member.
But then it escalated.
So ticked off that she could not have tomatoes, Ms. Gates allegedly then grabbed a knife from the table, telling her grandfather that she was not afraid to use it. The police were called, and she was taken into custody.
Something tells me the family will not be serving tomatoes at the dinner table for a long time.
Best Dine and Dash Ever
A lot of people don’t really think about the fact that the classic “dine-and-dash” is, in fact, a crime. And in my time as a defence lawyer, I have heard my fair share of hilarious dine and dash stories. However, this one really takes the cake.
A group of people attended a Memphis, Tennessee restaurant where they ordered a whole lot of food. And they didn’t skimp either – they ordered the most expensive dishes on the restaurant menu, just half an hour before closing.
Oh, but it gets better.
They then proceeded to start smoking cannabis right inside the restaurant. Which might be extremely rude and annoying in Canada, but is downright illegal in Tennessee where cannabis prohibition has still not yet been lifted. And when they were asked to stop smoking pot in the establishment? They refused.
Eventually, they left. But they left without paying their bill. And in a hilarious and fantastic twist of fate, the total for their bill came to a whopping $420.00.
Check out last week’s Weird and Wack Wednesday instalment.
