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Strange Crimes

I remember some kid blagging an Xbox in a similar incident in France a few years ago. Problem was he got away with it once then tried it again and got his collar felt.
I admit I did the same thing when I was a teenager .. I'm not boasting about it but I really wanted to buy an Alice Cooper live VHS tape from a large store, it was marked up as twenty quid which was a lot to pay in the early 80's .. and this was just before bar codes became standard everywhere .. so I switched the sticker for a £9.99 one. I got away with it. I wouldn't do that nowadays though.
 
A Bond Villain!

In something out of a James Bond movie, the FBI were pursuing a Northern California man allegedly behind a $35 million Ponzi scheme when he took off in his car. A chase ensued with the suspect, Matthew Piercey, 44, eventually abandoning his car and diving into Shasta Lake, propelling himself along using an underwater scooter. (The device is basically a fan you hold onto that pulls you through the water.) From KRCR:

https://boingboing.net/2020/11/17/ponzi-scheme-suspect-flees-fbi-on-underwater-scooter.html

 
Fed to badgers!

A man who killed and dismembered a retiree in a bid to steal his money dumped his victim's remains in a badger sett, a court has heard.

Daniel Walsh, 30, is accused of murdering Graham Snell, 71, whose body parts were found in various locations around Chesterfield.
On the last day he was seen alive, Derby Crown Court heard, Mr Snell told police the defendant had been stealing from his bank account.
Mr Walsh denies murder.

Prosecutor Peter Joyce QC told jurors Mr Snell went to a police station on 19 June last year and told officers he had "a problem with a man who comes and stays at my house without being invited".

By the time officers went to his home in Marsden Street the next morning, Mr Joyce said, "Graham Snell was lying dead in his house. Also in his house but not answering that door was Daniel Walsh," he said.

The next day, the court heard, the defendant purchased 10 rubble sacks and two large saws "to cut through the bones of Graham Snell".

On 24 June, jurors were told, Mr Walsh loaded two or three large black bags containing "many parts of Mr Snell's body" into a taxi.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55062793
 
I'm putting this here because of: (a) the bizarre nature of the assassination, real SpyFi stuff; (b) in the hope that the oddity of the incident will be discussed rather than associated politics. There have been several reports of a remote-controlled gun being used in the assassination but this seems to the first mention of AI.

A satellite-controlled machine-gun with "artificial intelligence" was used to kill Iran's top nuclear scientist, a Revolutionary Guards commander says.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot dead in a convoy outside Tehran on 27 November. On Sunday, Brig-Gen Ali Fadavi told local media the weapon, mounted in a pick-up, had been able to fire several rounds at Fakhrizadeh without hitting his wife beside him.

Iran has blamed Israel and an exiled opposition group for the attack. ...

Gen Fadavi, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, told a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday that a machine-gun mounted on the Nissan pick-up was "equipped with an intelligent satellite system which zoomed in on martyr Fakhrizadeh" and "was using artificial intelligence". The machine-gun "focused only on martyr Fakhrizadeh's face in a way that his wife, despite being only 25cm (10 inches) away, was not shot", he said. ...


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55214359
 
It's in the FT, but we missed it back in October:
News story

Derek McMinn, expert surgeon (Andy Murray can credit him with his revived tennis career) has had restrictions imposed and is under investigation after it was revealed he kept souvenirs of the operations he conducted. He has a collection of 5224 bones, taken from the still-living bodies of his patients. So much for going private!
 
Gen Fadavi, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, told a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday that a machine-gun mounted on the Nissan pick-up was "equipped with an intelligent satellite system which zoomed in on martyr Fakhrizadeh" and "was using artificial intelligence". The machine-gun "focused only on martyr Fakhrizadeh's face in a way that his wife, despite being only 25cm (10 inches) away, was not shot", he said. ...

“Middle Eastern soldier can’t believe that it’s possible for people to shoot that accurately”.

:rolleyes:

maximus otter
 
From the economics blog:

In NZ the most egregious contravention of quarantine I can recall was an adventurous Indian resident NZ citizen who used bedsheets as a rope to climb down from his quarantine hotel room then climbed over the new 2m high fence erected around the hotel, which was overseen by military personnel, so as to visit a nearby dairy (a kind of local shop).
 
He also had become well-known in Nottingham for walking around the city dressed up as movie villain the Joker.

A man who left a council worker with serious injuries when he dropped a bowling ball on his head has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm.

Damien Hammond, 31, had been shouting at workmen collecting a television from outside a flat in Strelley Road, Nottingham, in December 2019.
The ball, dropped from an upper window, hit one of them, causing a fractured skull and brain trauma. He admitted affray but had denied grievous bodily harm with intent. Hammond was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55300775
 
He also had become well-known in Nottingham for walking around the city dressed up as movie villain the Joker.

A man who left a council worker with serious injuries when he dropped a bowling ball on his head has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm.

Damien Hammond, 31, had been shouting at workmen collecting a television from outside a flat in Strelley Road, Nottingham, in December 2019.
The ball, dropped from an upper window, hit one of them, causing a fractured skull and brain trauma. He admitted affray but had denied grievous bodily harm with intent. Hammond was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55300775
What a colossal twat. People don't go to work to be attacked.
 
So many different scary angles on this story. If someone is suicidal, are they of sound mind to give consent? The victims are certainly not able to give their sides of their stories.

I am not making any statement about someone's right to die as allowed in some countries, but that his lawyers are making this argument to get him a lesser sentence.

Update.

A man who murdered nine people after contacting them on Twitter has been sentenced to death, in a high-profile case that has shocked Japan.

Takahiro Shiraishi, dubbed the "Twitter killer", was arrested in 2017 after body parts were found in his flat. The 30-year-old had admitted to murdering and dismembering his victims - almost all of whom were young women he met on the social media platform. The serial killings triggered debate over how suicide is discussed online.

More than 400 people turned up to watch the verdict on Tuesday, despite the court only having 16 seats available for the public, reported local media.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55313161


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55313161
 
Man sorta robs McDonald's with a chainsaw.
Portland man accused of chasing McDonald's employees with chainsaw

The Westbrook Police Department says a man has been arrested for allegedly chasing McDonald's employees with a chainsaw. ...

Officers say 26-year-old Alice Sweet of Portland entered McDonald's with a chainsaw, went behind the counter and stole a drink and some food while revving the chainsaw.

Police say when the manager confronted Sweet in the parking lot, Sweet chased the manager with the chainsaw and damaged two vehicles.

Sweet is charged with Robbery, Criminal Mischief, Refusing to Submit to Arrest and Violation of Conditions of Release.

FULL STORY: https://wgme.com/news/local/portland-man-accused-of-chasing-mcdonalds-employees-with-chainsaw
 
He also had become well-known in Nottingham for walking around the city dressed up as movie villain the Joker.

A man who left a council worker with serious injuries when he dropped a bowling ball on his head has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm.

Damien Hammond, 31, had been shouting at workmen collecting a television from outside a flat in Strelley Road, Nottingham, in December 2019.
The ball, dropped from an upper window, hit one of them, causing a fractured skull and brain trauma. He admitted affray but had denied grievous bodily harm with intent. Hammond was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55300775
How is he not being charged with attempted murder if he deliberately dropped a ball on the persons head? I admit to being a tad thick regarding laws but hell and damnation what the heck, like, did he only drop the ball on his head to help flatten a sticky up bit of hair? *rolls eyes*
 
How is he not being charged with attempted murder if he deliberately dropped a ball on the persons head? I admit to being a tad thick regarding laws but hell and damnation what the heck, like, did he only drop the ball on his head to help flatten a sticky up bit of hair? *rolls eyes*

“Attempted murder” is one of the most difficult charges to prove. All he had to do was establish doubt that he had the premeditated intent to kill someone, and - pow! - away goes the offence.

Here’s a case where the offender sought out a specific individual to confront, took a hidden knife with him to the locus of the offence, stabbed the victim twice in the heart, then made a rap record boasting about the attack.

Result? Not guilty of attempted murder; guilty of GBH.

maximus otter
 
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“Attempted murder” is one of the most difficult charges to prove. All he had to do was establish doubt that he had the premeditated intent to kill someone , and - pow! - away goes the offence.

Here’s a case where the offender sought out a specific individual to confront, took a hidden knife with him to the locus of the offence, stabbed the victim twice in the heart, then made a rap record boasting about the attack.

Result? Not guilty of attempted murder; guilty of GBH.

maximus otter
I thought 'where did that happen?' - sure, I might have guessed it'd be this country, where the ordinary people aren't protected by the law.
 
I have to admit these illegal southern US winemakers (moonwiners?) picked a great place for hiding in plain sight - a municipal sewage treatment facility.
Illegal winery busted at Alabama town’s sewage plant

Sheriff’s officials say they’ve busted an illegal winery that was operating at a municipal sewage plant in a small north Alabama town.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement it received an anonymous tip about an alcohol operation at a municipal building in the town of Rainsville on Thursday. Investigators then uncovered what’s described as a large illegal winery inside the Rainsville Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Photos released by investigators show glass containers, buckets, a fermenting rack and other equipment often used by people who make wine at home.

The agency says officers seized a lot of illegal alcohol, and arrests are expected. The town of about 5,100 people is 100 miles northeast of Birmingham. ...

SOURCE (With Photos): https://apnews.com/article/alabama-illegal-winery-busted-sewage-90df58246b706d797d4a80a162f8b1ac
 
Not all horror film fans are like this. Honestly ..

A man obsessed with horror films has been convicted along with his boyfriend of murdering and dismembering a woman in their flat.

Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 30, took Julia Rawson home after meeting her in a pub in Dudley, West Midlands, in May 2019. He and David Leesley, 25, then killed her and hid her body parts in undergrowth, the trial at Coventry Crown Court was told. Maynard-Ellis was also found guilty of rape charges relating to another woman. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-54781349

Update.

A man who murdered and dismembered a woman at his flat has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 30, took Julia Rawson home after meeting her in a pub in Dudley, West Midlands, in May 2019. Along with his boyfriend David Leesley, 25, they killed her and hid her body parts.Leesley was also sentenced to life in prison and will serve a minimum of 19 years.

During the trial at Coventry Crown Court, prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said Ms Rawson, 42, "could not have known that she was about to enter a flat of horrors". He said "many knives, saws, axes and other bladed articles" were found in the "tiny" property, including swords mounted on the walls. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-55349295
 
A Massachusetts couple used the classically simple "snatch and run" routine to get an albino python.
Police: Couple steals $300 albino python from pet store

Police in Peabody, Massachusetts, are looking for a couple who slithered away with a snake worth $300 from a city pet store.

The couple entered the Petco store around 4:30 p.m. Monday, police told The Salem News on Wednesday.

The man asked an employee if he could play with the albino cinnamon ball python. When the employee said that is against store policy, the man offered to buy it, Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said. ...

The employee put the snake in a box and brought it to the register area. When the employee put it on the counter, the man grabbed the box, and he and the woman ran from the store and sped away in a car, Bonaiuto said. ...

SOURCE: https://apnews.com/article/snakes-theft-05010b770d8dc0872a376904202a475b
 
Last minute Christmas shopping by broke couple?
Maybe Santa promised to bring their 10 year old a baby albino cinnamon ball python?
Or maybe they just heard wrong and it was really supposed to be a minibon roll Cinnabun pack?
 
How Not to Deal With Murder in Space

A bizarre 1970 Arctic killing over a jug of raisin wine shows that we need to think about crime outside our atmosphere now.


Mario Escamilla was furious. A colleague of his, nicknamed Porky, had just stolen his jug of raisin wine. So the 33-year-old Escamilla grabbed a rifle and set out to reclaim it. He had no idea he was about to get tangled up in one of the knottiest homicides in history—a killing that also raises serious questions about how humankind should handle the first, inevitable murder in outer space.

iu


A supply drop on T3

Escamilla worked on T-3, also known as Fletcher’s ice island, a Manhattan-size hunk of ice that at the time was floating north of Canada in the Arctic Ocean, roughly 350 miles from the North Pole.

Despite the constant polar sunshine in the summer, the weather could be harsh, with temperatures dipping down to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit sometimes and winds reaching 160 miles per hour.

If contemporary accounts can be believed, Donald “Porky” Leavitt was a drunk, and a mean one. Three separate times on T-3, after running low on liquor, he attacked people with a meat cleaver to get his hands on their booze. On the night of July 16, Porky targeted electronics technician Mario Escamilla, breaking into Escamilla’s trailer and stealing a prized jug of homemade raisin hooch.

When Escamilla found out, something snapped. He was actually an unlikely vigilante. He was pudgy and wore glasses, and was considered quiet, even wimpy. But when he heard about the theft, he grabbed the base rifle and marched over to confront Porky.

Unfortunately, Escamilla didn’t know that the rifle he’d grabbed was faulty. One hard bump—even without pulling the trigger—and it would fire.

Escamilla found Porky in a trailer with a meteorological technician named Bennie Lightsy, who was Escamilla’s boss on T-3. Porky and Lightsy were, to put it mildly, shitfaced. They’d been drinking a truly foul mix of raisin wine, grain alcohol, and grape juice; Lightsy’s blood-alcohol level was later estimated to be 0.26.

A struggle for the raisin wine ensued, and in the confrontation that followed, Escamilla shot not Porky Leavitt, but his boss, Bennie Lightsy, square in the chest. He bled out moments later.

T-3 was technically run by the U.S. Air Force, but Escamilla was a civilian, so they couldn’t court-martial him. The nearest land mass was Canada, but T-3 lay well outside Canada’s territorial waters, so it had no jurisdiction there. Perhaps the law of the sea applied? After all, T-3 was in some sense the literal high seas, being high-latitude frozen seawater. Except, the law of the sea applies only to navigable areas, and T-3 wasn’t navigable.

In the end, might essentially tried to make right here. Four U.S. marshals undertook a harrowing, multiday journey via plane and helicopter, first to Greenland and then T-3, fighting brutal Arctic winds and weather. Upon landing, they grabbed Escamilla, the rifle, and Lightsy’s frozen body for transport back to the United States. Escamilla was then charged with murder in a federal court in Virginia. Why there? For the less-than-airtight reason that, well, Virginia was the first place the marshals and Escamilla landed after leaving Greenland, at Dulles Airport.

The trial presented all sorts of legal issues. First, there was the question of whether the government even had the right to try Escamilla, given T-3’s legal limbo. Second, there was the question of venue. Technically, the marshals and Escamilla had landed in Greenland first on the trip back home, so according to international law, he should have been tried there. The U.S. government simply ignored this. Federal prosecutors also attempted to charge Escamilla under special maritime law for crimes committed on vessels, despite the fact that T-3 wasn’t a “vessel” in any real sense.

Ultimately, after an initial conviction for manslaughter and the inevitable appeals and remands, Escamilla was acquitted of all charges, given the faulty rifle. But because of that acquittal, all the juicy legal issues remained unresolved. T-3 was essentially treated as a freak occurrence—a random, one-off event. But it won’t be.

https://slate.com/technology/2020/07/arctic-t3-murder-space.html

The Wikipedia account of the case.

maximus otter
 
So far it's a One Body Problem.

BEIJING (AP) — Police in Shanghai say they have detained a suspect in the death by possible poisoning of the billionaire founder of a Chinese video game company that makes films based on the popular science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem.”

Lin Qi, 39, died on Christmas Day after being hospitalized, according to his company, Yoozoo Games Co., also known as Youzu Interactive.
A police statement said a 39-year-old coworker, identified only by the surname Xu, was detained. The statement said the victim was hospitalized Dec. 17 and diagnosed with possible poisoning but gave no other details.

An employee who answered the phone Monday at the Shanghai police press office said there was no additional information to release.
The business magazine Caixin, citing unidentified industry sources, said the suspect is an employee of Yoozoo’s film division and was working on “The Three-Body Problem.” ...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lin-qi-coworker-detained-after-death_n_5fea1077c5b64e4421057c09
 
So far it's a One Body Problem.

BEIJING (AP) — Police in Shanghai say they have detained a suspect in the death by possible poisoning of the billionaire founder of a Chinese video game company that makes films based on the popular science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem.”

Lin Qi, 39, died on Christmas Day after being hospitalized, according to his company, Yoozoo Games Co., also known as Youzu Interactive.
A police statement said a 39-year-old coworker, identified only by the surname Xu, was detained. The statement said the victim was hospitalized Dec. 17 and diagnosed with possible poisoning but gave no other details.

An employee who answered the phone Monday at the Shanghai police press office said there was no additional information to release.
The business magazine Caixin, citing unidentified industry sources, said the suspect is an employee of Yoozoo’s film division and was working on “The Three-Body Problem.” ...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lin-qi-coworker-detained-after-death_n_5fea1077c5b64e4421057c09

It’s a Xu fugu voodoo Yoozoo Youzu whodunnit.

maximus otter
 
Hacked home cams used to livestream police raids in swatting attacks

Hackers have livestreamed police raids on innocent households after hijacking their victims' smart home devices and making a hoax call to the authorities, the FBI has warned.

It said offenders had even spoken to responding officers via the hacked kit.

iu


It marks the latest escalation of a crime known as "swatting", in which offenders fool armed police or other emergency responders to go to a target's residence.

The FBI said there were "deadly" risks. A fake call about a hostage situation led to police shooting a man in Kansas three years ago, and there have been non-fatal injuries in other cases.

The FBI said it believed the latest twist on the "prank" was able to be carried out because the victims had reused passwords from other services when setting up their smart devices.

In November, NBC News highlighted a case in which police went to a Florida home after receiving a fake 911 call from a man saying he had killed his wife and was hoarding explosives. When they left the building after discovering it to be a hoax, officers reported hearing someone insult them via the property's internet-connected Ring doorbell.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55499164

maximus otter
 
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