‘For decades, college kids have used stolen milk crates as the basic building blocks of coffee tables and dorm room shelves.
Now, a new breed of crate rustler is cashing in by swiping thousands of the containers from loading docks and selling them to shady recyclers.
The containers are chopped into bits and shipped to booming factories in China to be made into a variety of products, from pipes to flower pots.
Facing an estimated $80 million in annual losses from the thefts, dairies across the country are moving to stop the plastic pilfering. In California, companies are even hiring private detectives and staging sting operations.’
‘After laying siege to a house for five hours, police gave a final warning before storming the house where a gunman had been reported inside.
A police dog rushed upstairs and, finding a woman in bed, proceeded to sink its teeth into her arms.
But as armed officers surrounded a terrified Sonia Pellow, they realised two things. First, she wasn’t a gunman.
Second, she was deaf and had been sleeping throughout the entire stand-off.
Yesterday Miss Pellow, 36, was still too afraid to return to her home in Hayle, Cornwall, after the ordeal, which followed a hoax call to police that a gunman was inside.
“I don’t know what happened – I was asleep but then this dog was all over me,” she said. “I got bitten on both of my arms. I was terrified.”‘
‘An elderly woman who was mugged for 11 cents said she hopes her attacker learned a lesson, NBC 5 reported. [..]
“He got right in my face and said very quietly, ‘Give me your wallet. I have a gun and I will shoot you,'” Rose said. “I felt sick. I was disappointed in me and in him.”
Rose said she thought he was kidding, but gave him everything she had: 11 cents.
“I said, ‘What would your mother think of you?’ He didn’t reply,” Rose said.’
‘It’s a bad idea to burglarize a place marked “K-9 training facility.”
Police dog handlers arriving Wednesday at the abandoned nursing home where they hold training sessions discovered two men and a woman dismantling the building’s copper pipes and wiring, Hall County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kiley Sargent said.
When the officers arrived, the three dropped their tools and ran. That was their second mistake.
“For anyone to try to run from a whole unit of canines, it’s just a no-win situation,” Sargent said. [..]
Signs outside the northern Georgia facility warn, “Caution!!! Gainesville Police Department K-9 training facility – Keep Out.”‘
‘A new bungle has emerged in the investigation of Mohamed Haneef as Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty yesterday dimissed reports that the Indian doctor was suspected of being involved in a plot to attack the Gold Coast’s tallest building.
The Australian can reveal that investigating AFP officers wrote the names of overseas terror suspects in Dr Haneef’s personal diary, only to later grill him during an interrogation over whether he had written the potentially incriminating notes. [..]
Sergeant Simms states: “Now, as I was alluding to, or as I was going to show you, before … police who have been looking through your diary have found some handwritten notes in the back of your diary. And one of these handwritten notes is details for Kafeel Ahmed. Telephone numbers and looks like an address. A couple of addresses. Now, that writing there, is that your writing?”
When Dr Haneef again denies it is his writing, Sergeant Simms leaves the room. He returns and says: “Thought that might have been the case. In fact, it’s not. This is what’s been written by police. So it’s not your handwriting at all.”‘
‘Mellon Park in Point Breeze is meant to be an oasis from the stresses of city life, but when two rival ice cream vendors met there recently, it was anything but peaceful and calm. [..]
The woman told investigators Didiano started screaming and cursing at her in front of children, saying she was hurting his business.
Then, she said, he went back to his truck and pulled out a knife and threatened her before slashing her truck’s tires.
Didiano has been accused of a meltdown before. A couple of years ago, he was in a scuffle with a 13-year-old boy. At the time, Didiano told police the boy cursed at him and his prices.
The boy claimed Didiano wouldn’t sell him ice cream because he said he was fat.’
‘Purdue Pharma L.P., the maker of OxyContin, and three of its executives were ordered Friday to pay a $634.5 million fine for misleading the public about the painkiller’s risk of addiction. [..]
Designed to be swallowed whole and digested over 12 hours, the pills can produce a heroin-like high if crushed and then swallowed, snorted or injected.
From 1996 to 2001, the number of oxycodone-related deaths nationwide increased fivefold while the annual number of OxyContin prescriptions increased nearly 20-fold, according to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2002, the DEA said the drug caused 146 deaths and contributed to another 318.’
‘A woman who says she was so overcome with passion for a valuable painting on display in France, has been charged with criminal damage after kissing it.
The immaculate white canvas so attracted Sam Rindy she smudged it with her lipstick, saying later she had wanted to make it even more beautiful.
The 3x2m (9×6-foot) painting by US artist Cy Twombly is valued at more than $2m (£970,000). [..]
“I left a kiss,” she told La Provence newspaper on leaving the police station.
“A red stain remained on the canvas… This red stain is testimony to this moment, to the power of art.”‘
‘Call it a case of shopping-cart rage.
State police said a 45-year-old Dutchess County man became enraged at a 72-year-old woman who was in front of him at the checkout line of the Super Stop & Shop on Route 6 last night and ran her over with his shopping cart.
James Curcio of Hillside Road, Poughquag, continued pushing the shopping cart out the door, despite not paying for the groceries, then beat a retreat in his car, police said.
The 72-year-old woman was treated at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt and released.’
‘A Holly Hill woman said a cross-dressing prostitute assumed her look and stole her identity.
Brittany Ossenfort said her old roommate, who was identified as Richard Phillips, is pretending to be her as he sits in the Orange County Jail on a prostitution charge under her name.
“We had gotten a phone call while I was at work that he was in jail, and he was asking my boss to go bail him out,” Ossenfort said.
Ossenfort said she did some checking online.
“There it was, my name, my address, my birthdate, his picture looking like a girl,” Ossenfort said.’
‘A seagull has turned shoplifter by wandering into a shop and helping itself to crisps.
The bird walks into the RS McColl newsagents in Aberdeen when the door is open and makes off with cheese Doritos.
The seagull, nicknamed Sam, has now become so popular that locals have started paying for his crisps.
Shop assistant Sriaram Nagarajan said: “Everyone is amazed by the seagull. For some reason he only takes that one particular kind of crisps.”
The bird first swooped in Aberdeen’s Castlegate earlier this month and made off with the 55p crisps, and is now a regular.
Once outside, the crisps are ripped open and the seagull is joined by other birds.’
‘A chubby-faced tearaway nicknamed Chucky after the demonic horror movie doll has been issued with an Asbo after using up 85 per cent of the local police time.
Oliver Clinch, 12, brought chaos and fear to his neighbourhood as he went on an alcohol-fuelled crime spree, smashing windows, stealing, abusing residents in the street and leading other youths ‘like the Pied Piper’.
Clinch’s victims are looking forward to their first peaceful night in more than a year after he was given a two-year anti-social behaviour order.
They hope it will bring to an end the 12-month reign of terror during which
4ft 5in Clinch committed at least 60 offences in Little Lever near Bolton.
PC Graham Westwell told Bolton magistrates that he had spent 85 per cent of his working life dealing with Clinch’s crimes. He said: ‘In my view, these 60 offences in the last year represent only half of the crimes he has committed.’
‘Peruvian authorities discovered more than 200 plants of marijuana growing in the grassy median of a residential street in Lima this week – just a few meters from a school and community center.
On Friday, according to the El Comercio newspaper, two city workers watering green areas in the La Victoria district of Lima, Peru found an explosive device in the median of the 800 block of San Eugene Avenue. They immediately contacted the Peruvian National police who located the military-style grenade and summoned a bomb squad to remove it.
As the workers moved further down the median they made a second discovery – several hundred marijuana plants thriving in the knee-high grass. The police then removed the plants. Officials with the Peruvian National Police say they are continuing to investigate both incidents.’
‘She sits on the lookout in a lawn chair on their front porch, her forehead glossy with sweat, Bible next to her left foot, wind chimes clinking at her back. Her husband of 24 years is by her side, German shepherd at his knee, handgun tucked beneath the belt on his jeans.
High in these humid hills, Ed and Elaine Brown have been holed up in their home for six months, refusing to serve a five-year prison sentence for tax evasion. They all but dared law officials to come and get them. This, they say, is a fight they’re ready to die for. [..]
“There’s no more America,” Ed says. “It’s already gone.”
“I’ll die fighting, rather than live in slavery,” Elaine says. “I’ll tell you that.” [..]
“There’s two freight trains going just like this toward each other,” Ed says. “So you better take a side, buddy, because when they hit, it’s going to be hellacious.
“And,” he says, “it all could start right here.”‘
‘Armed police went into action in the German city of Wuppertal after a woman reported seeing a masked criminal — but having rushed to the scene, they were surprised to find not a crook, but a large stuffed toy.
The woman was returning late at night to her car in an indoor car park when she saw the suspected brigand through the window of a parked van, police said Thursday.
Though she later admitted to only catching a glimpse in the darkness, she was sufficiently alarmed to alert the authorities.
Armed officers arrived in three cars and surrounded the van. What they found was a large toy beaver, strapped into the passenger seat.
A police spokesman said he struggled to see how the toy, which has two oversized front teeth, could have been mistaken for a person.’
‘A Cincinnati couple was arrested Wednesday after their 3-year-old daughter was found alone with a rope around her neck, police said.
A social worker saw the girl on the side of a road in Sedamsville, Ohio, while on her way to another home and called police.
Police said they responded and waited more than an hour to see if the girl’s parents would come out of their home to check on her. When they didn’t, police went inside and arrested them.
Rose Seibert and Kermit Martin are facing charges of child endangering. It was not clear how the rope got around the girl’s neck.’
‘Traffic police in Switzerland have been handing out sweet rewards during a 24-hour “thank you” to safe drivers.
Motorists in the western region of Fribourg can expect a traditional gift of Swiss chocolate – but only if they pass roadside checks.
The aim is to reward good drivers, many of whom may have been pulled over more than once during a six-month campaign in the wake of a number of accidents.
The 100g chocolate bars are embossed with the police force coat of arms.’
‘A judge ruled that a teenager will be tried as an adult for the death of an 18-month old boy he is accused of repeatedly swinging against a wall because he was frustrated with the child’s toilet training.
Derris Smith, 18, the live-in boyfriend of the child’s mother, has been charged with murder. He was 17 on June 27, when authorities say he delivered the beating that led to Malakai Glenn’s death four days later.
The boy’s mother, 20-year-old Sasha Glenn, testified Wednesday that the impact of the child hitting the wall left drywall stuck to his head and cracked a wooden door.’
‘The Kansas City Zoo plans to press charges against two teenage boys who allegedly climbed into the hippo exhibit and threw rocks at the two-ton mammals, zoo officials said.
A 14-year-old witness spotted the boys Monday as the hippos were becoming angry and charging. The boys, whose identities were not released, survived the encounter without injuries.
Randy Wisthoff, the zoo director, said the boys, both 14, are from St. Louis and were apparently trying to impress a girl.
The massive hippos, which spend much of their days submerged in water, are often considered one of the most dangerous animals in the world.’
‘A woman accused of killing her daughter by microwaving the newborn in an oven told police she was drunk, but couldn’t recall doing anything that caused the child’s burns, according to testimony Thursday.
China Arnold, 26, is charged with aggravated murder in the Aug. 30, 2005, death of her month-old daughter, Paris Talley. She has pleaded not guilty.
At a pretrial hearing, detective Michael Galbraith testified that Arnold told him during questioning then: “If I hadn’t gotten so drunk, I guess my baby wouldn’t have died.”
But questioned by defense attorney Jon Paul Rion, Galbraith acknowledged that Arnold told him she didn’t know how the baby suffered the burns, and that she had nothing to do with it that she could recall.’
‘A man stopped for drink driving was found to be wearing nothing behind the wheel except his shoes and socks. [..]
He stalled and his car lurched forward, bumping their vehicle. Officers then discovered he was almost naked. [..]
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “His trousers and top were stuffed into the footwell of the car.
“The passengers in the rear of the car were not apparently aware that he was naked.
“It seems they saw him get out to relieve himself and were unaware that when he got back in the car it was without his clothes on.” [..]
It is understood he never explained why he was driving almost naked.’
‘Modesto police have arrested a man and a woman on felony charges of child endangerment after discovering that a “mini-horse” lived in their home’s kitchen and dining room, which were covered with trash and feces.
An animal control officer visited the one-story house at 1233 College Court on Monday after neighbors told police about the horse and seven dogs kept in the back yard. Joe Curtis Silva, 30, denied having a horse in the house, but the officer saw Silva trying to load the animal into a vehicle and called for more officers to investigate, police said.
“The conditions were horrendous,” said John Bear, animal control supervisor for the Modesto police. “This miniature horse had been housed indoors for I’m guessing a good length of time by the amount of animal waste that was built up inside the house.”‘
‘A mayor in eastern Germany has filed charges against workers at his local zoo for shooting animals and selling them as meat.
A spokeswoman for the mayor’s office said deer were among the animals killed and sold by workers at Erfurt Zoo without permission over a number of years. [..]
“We are worried this is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Wolfgang Apel, president of the League, who also said the case raised serious questions about the zoo’s management.
Die Zeit newspaper quoted an anonymous zoo employee as saying the number of animals had been declining and: “It is high time something is done about it.”‘
‘A 38-year-old man was arrested after he called 911 and told a dispatcher he was surrounded by police officers and needed help, authorities said.
Police officers met Dana Farrell Shelton after being called to investigate a disturbance at a bar on Sunday but had found no problems and told him to move along.
Shelton, who officers said appeared intoxicated, then called 911 to report he was “surrounded by Largo police,” according to an arrest affidavit.
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“Our officers were standing there scratching their heads. He called, standing there in their presence,” Largo Sgt. Melanie Holley said. “It’s one of our ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ cases.”
Shelton was charged with misdemeanor misuse of 911. The charge carries maximum penalties of one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.’
‘A TV report earlier this month that purportedly showed a Beijing seller using softened chopped cardboard as the main ingredient in steamed buns has been dismissed as false news.
The Beijing municipal government said last night that investigations had found an employee surnamed Zi with Beijing Television fabricated and directed the sensational program for higher audience ratings. Zi is being held under criminal custody. [..]
The report said 60 percent of the bun’s ingredients were chopped cardboard that had been soaked in caustic soda. Pork flavor and fatty meat were added to the cardboard, it claimed. [..]
However, the government announcement said that Zi had provided all the cardboard and asked the vendor to soak it. “It’s all cheating,” it said.’
Followup to Chinese food ‘made from cardboard’.
‘A 55-year-old Port Orange woman who said she killed her neighbors because their “green mothball cookies” made her sick was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, according to a judge. [..]
A short time after the shooting, Anderson was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.
During questioning, Anderson told police, “I didn’t see any blood or bullet holes in their clothing. …They are over there watching TV aren’t they? I was shooting blanks.”
Anderson also said, “They make me cookies with green mothballs in them and I get sick.’
‘Wearing his gold-framed glasses and gold headphones and sipping from his gold-rimmed cup yesterday, veteran broadcaster John Laws was down one vital glistening item – his golden mike.
Police are treating as suspicious the disappearance from his production office of the $10,000 nine carat gold microphone presented to Lawsie in 2003 as a gift from 2UE management for his 50th year on the airwaves.
It is a one-off German Sennheiser, serial number JL 0001.
Laws has been using another golden microphone, given to him for his 40th anniversary, since the brazen bandit looted the king of his prized instrument. “I’m very upset about it. It’s been part of my life,” Laws said yesterday.’
‘A startling sight greeted a Fredericksburg woman when she returned home from picking up a newspaper early Thursday, police said. A man she didn’t know was sitting on her toilet.
The man had apparently entered her home in the 300 block of Germania Street by cutting a screen and unlocking the door, police said.
City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the incident occurred about 5:30 a.m. The resident, who is in her 80s, had left the home for a brief time to get a paper. On her way to get the paper, Bledsoe said, the woman saw the man hanging out on the street. She had never seen him before that.
When she got home, she noticed that the bathroom door was closed. She opened the door and the man was sitting there.
Bledsoe said the woman asked the man a couple of questions, including “How long are you going to be?” but didn’t understand the man’s response because it was in Spanish.’
‘Gov. Bill Ritter heard the shots echo in the hallway — pop, pop, pop.
Just outside his Capitol office, a man who declared “I am the emperor” had been shot and killed by a state trooper when he refused to drop his gun, authorities said. [..]
Authorities said the unidentified man — described as wearing dark pants and a white shirt — had at least two verbal confrontations with state troopers in Ritter’s security. The man had walked into the reception area of Ritter’s office and was being escorted out before he produced a gun and refused orders to put it down, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. [..]
Before he was shot, the gunman said, “I am the emperor and I’m here to take over state government,” said Evan Dreyer, the governor’s spokesman.
Police said they did not know his name or motive.’
‘A German man who startled his neighbors when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathized with his technical frustrations.
Police in the northern city of Hanover said they would not press charges after responding to calls made by residents in an apartment block who were woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Saturday. [..]
Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the 51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer.
“Who hasn’t felt like doing that?” said a police spokesman.’
