Legal Juice

Almost everyone uses the remote control on their car key to lock the car. And it's then alarmed too. What a great technology! Remotes have really come a long way. So you're safe, right? Well, no. And here's why, per wmbfnews.com:

Apparently thieves are targeting those keyless entry remotes by using a device to de-code the signal and break into vehicles.

Come again?

"On national news they've had coverage about these devices. If people are using their remote controls for their car locks they have this device that can pick it up and mimic the code so they can get into the vehicle after you leave," according to Captain David Knipes with the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

Damn!

Captain Knipes believes this crime is just another reminder to be careful and aware of your surroundings, "If you can take that extra time to manually hit the door lock than that's something you should do."

Not gonna happen. The Juice will not be altering his behavior (although it's usually not an issue since he commutes to work by bicycle.) You can read a little bit more here.

That's not a question this man will want to answer. Why? Because the answer is ... dognapping. As reported by The Sun Sentinel:

A canine con man was busted Wednesday after trying to extort an $8,000 cash ransom from a North Naples woman in exchange for her two white 3-year-old Samoyeds, Ava and Snowdot, according to a news release from the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

On Monday, a man, later identified as Dathan Charles Cyr, sent a text message to the woman asking her if she was still looking for her two lost dogs that had been missing since April 14th when they got lost, deputies said.

The brokenhearted woman reportedly had placed ads in local publications and passed out fliers offering a reward for her lost pooches.

The woman answered the mysterious texter, who claimed to be a Latina female named 'Diana' who lived in Immokalee, that she was still looking for her dogs. 'Diana' claimed to have the dogs, the release stated.

'Diana' then allegedly threatened to shoot the dogs if the woman wouldn't pay the $8,000 ransom.

You bastard!

So the woman contacted deputies who devised a plan to collar the doggie-napper.

A meeting with 'Diana' was arranged, and on Wednesday an envelope was dropped off at a designated location in Naples chosen by 'Diana."

Clearly "Diana" never watches TV.

When 'Diana", aka Dathan Charles Cyr, showed up five minutes later and snatched the envelope, deputies stationed nearby put a leash on the suspect and later hauled him the The Big Dog House, according to the report.

For added measure a detective dialed the phone number that the suspect used to call the woman...and the cell phone in Cyr’s car's center console began to ring, according to deputies.

Boom!

Cyr reportedly later 'fessed up to the crime in an interview with detectives.

Here's the source, including a mug shot, and photos of the dogs.

Maybe it's because texting or posting something on Facebook, or leaving a voice mail message (Mel Gibson!) is so easy. Whatever the reason, people really do a lot of stupid things with technology. A recent example is brought to you by The Belleville (Illinois) News-Democrat.

An Alton man faces charges for allegedly posting what officials called an "alarming message" on a social networking site.

Go on.

Madison County Sheriff's deputies arrested 29-year-old Joshua Michael Clark Tuesday after they were tipped off to a possible threat posted on Clark's Facebook page.

According to police, Clark had posted, "Hey Madison County Courthouse, tick, tick, tick...boom."

Brilliant!

Deputies interviewed Clark, and said that he confessed to posting the message. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Did he mean it?

Police said the threat was not legitimate and there was no bomb or device found.

You'll find the source here.

Someone hits your car on purpose. Of course, you get all the pertinent information. If you're this guy, that would not be the license plate, type of car, etc. Per sfgate.com:

A woman intentionally rammed her car into a man’s car while arguing over a parking spot in the Haight, but the victim was so focused on her low-cut dress that all he could describe to officers afterward were her breasts, San Francisco police said Thursday.

The woman drove away after hitting the man’s car at Haight and Cole streets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Park Station Officer Al Wu. The man couldn’t tell officers what kind of car it was, let alone supply a license-plate number, but he “was able to give a detailed description of the suspect’s cleavage,” police said.

No one has been arrested.

And nobody every will be. Here's the source.

...The Juice would put "in front of the police station" near the bottom of the list. Of course, the calculus changes, when, like a 40-year-old Appleton, Wisconsin man, you have consumed so much booze that your blood-alcohol level is 4 times the legal limit. He was busted for ... public urination and jailed on a probation violation!

If you guessed that this bakery burglar was caught because he left a trail of crumbs, you'd be ... wrong! Per the The Hamilton Spectator (Ontario):

After breaking into a bakery in the area of Barton Street East and Sherman Avenue North Sunday night, a bumbling burglar left a trail of coins which allowed police to follow him to a nearby address and made a quick arrest.

Seriously? A trail of money? Brilliant!

Police say the man was caught red-handed and in possession of property from the bakery including an undisclosed amount of cash and unique coins, also stolen from the business.

Jason Healey, 38, of Hamilton has been charged with break and enter and possession of stolen property valued under $5,000.

You'll find the source here.

Most folks know there are cameras EVERYWHERE. The US is becoming more like the UK this way with each passing day. Apparently this Florida woman is not aware of the phenomenon. Per the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office:

A Charlotte County Sheriff's deputy arrested a Port Charlotte Target employee Tuesday after security went back through surveillance video that showed her steal cash from her register 14 times totaling $2,300. Arrested for Grand Theft was Melissa A. Sayre, 29, 11798 Van Loon Avenue, Englewood East.

14 times!

Target security began checking archived surveillance video after Sayre’s cash register came up short starting Feb. 7 and continuing until Mar. 15. Sayre was called to the Target Offices to discuss the shortages; she admitted that she stole the money and was immediately terminated. The deputy arrived and arrested Sayer who said she took the money out of need to pay her rent and fix her car.

Here's a link to the story, which includes a mug shot.

In the world of 911 operators, this probably wasn't even that wacky of a call. Still, it was really stupid. It's almost like you'd have to be drunk to do something this dumb. Per clickorlando.com:

A Brevard County mother was arrested after she called 911 and asked dispatchers to sends officers to scare her children, police said.

You know, it's not so easy raising teenagers. Wait, the kids are how old?

According to jail records, Melissa Townsend, 27, was arrested Tuesday after making the call to emergency officials about her kids, ages 1 and 3.

Doh.

"I need a police officer to come out and scare the (expletive) out of my kids," Townsend said on the 911 call. "They're not listening to me and they need to learn respect. They need to learn that lesson."

Yeah, if you start letting them disrespect you at age 1, who knows how they'll turn out?

The dispatcher told the upset mother that police would not do what she asked. "We don't come out and scare kids," the dispatcher said.

Police responded to Townsend's Indian Harbour Beach home and found the mother drunk, officials said.

And if this behavior wasn't troubling enough, check this out:

Police said when they tried to arrest Townsend she kicked an officer in the groin multiple times.

That there's about the worst kind of resisting arrest.

Townsend was booked into the Brevard County Jail on several charges, including child neglect and battery on a law enforcement officer.

Click here for the source, which includes a mug shot.

&@#$#@)+&!!!! Everyone has thought about cussing someone out. Lots of us have done it. Not so many have done it on another attorney's voicemail. A longtime prosecutor in Clark County, Washington sure wishes he hadn't. As reported in The Columbian ...

A 27-year veteran attorney of the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office — who has tried a number of high-profile criminals — has been demoted after leaving an explosive, profanity-laced two-minute voice-mail message on a defense attorney’s cellphone.

What made Mr. David so angry?

The situation started May 25, when [prosecutor Jim] David received an email from defense attorney John Terry notifying him that the defense attorney was prepared to go to trial the following week. Terry was representing Matthew L. Coonce, arrested on March 3 on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and stealing a car.

David was under the impression that Terry wanted to postpone Coonce’s trial, so David said he had already scheduled several conflicting appointments. The next day, he called Terry, telling him a trial would force him to "cancel my weekend."

Here it comes (with expletives reinserted):

"You’ve been telling me you wanted a continuance on the [fucking] case, and now you are telling me you want to go to trial next week," David said in the voice mail. "I’m [fucking] laying you out. This is absolute [bullshit]."

David went on to say harsh words about [defendant] Coonce.

"It’s coming out of your client’s hide if I have to go to trial next week, and there ain’t going to be no stinking offers," David said in the message. "There ain’t going to be nothing coming other than go to prison for a very long time."

Although Mr. David has paid a price for losing his temper, he was right about that last bit.

Prior to trial, Terry filed a motion to dismiss the case because he felt David was guilty of telephone harassment and his actions unfairly prejudiced his client. Clark County Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson denied the motion. The case went to trial and Coonce was convicted on June 3.

You can read a fair amount more here.

People trying to sneak stuff into jail is not news. You can probably guess one of the techniques that is frequently attempted. Well here's a new one, at least new to The Juice. As reported by North Country Now (New York):

A Moira woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to enter St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility with seven Tylenol PM pills taped to the bottom of her foot, according to St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputies.

So it was unsuccessful. At least it was creative.

Brandy A. Carbino, 32, 64 Birch Lane, Moira, who was being booked into the jail, allegedly tried to smuggle in the pills, deputies report. She is currently sentenced to serve weekends at the jail on another charge.

Carbino was charged with second-degree promoting prison contraband, a class A misdemeanor and issued an appearance ticket for Canton Village Court on Dec. 20.

Looks like they'll be tacking a few more weekends on. Here's the source.

Admit it. You've thought about it. Some jackass steals your parking spot. You want blood (or at least some bruising). But you don't do anything because ... it's a parking spot. Well, one of both of these gents felt otherwise, per timesonline.com (Beaver, PA):

[Franklin] Township police said officers were initially called around 6:40 p.m. Monday to the Giant Eagle parking lot for a report of a pedestrian being struck by a car, but then learned the incident was actually a man who had been assaulted.

Police said two men got into an argument over a parking spot, and one man assaulted the other. The man who was assaulted went to Ellwood City Hospital to be evaluated, but police said they did not believe he suffered any serious injuries.

Police did not release the names of anyone involved. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday night.

No arrest? Perhaps the injured party was the aggressor? Here's the source.

In probably every household, there is disagreement regarding the desirable thermostat temperature. In almost every household, a compromise is reached. In this household, not so much. These sisters, who share a home, got into it over one degree. As reported by The Chicago Tribune:

Ilona Sales and Wanda Lupina both say they ended up bruised in the tussle sparked when Sales turned the heat up to 68 degrees.

Lupina turned the heat down one degree, to 67, and that's when the trouble started ...

Lupina, claims Sales then punched her, pulled her hair and knocked her to the ground. Sales has been charged with misdemeanor battery and a court date was set for Monday afternoon in Joliet.

Hmm. Do you think Sales would agree with that version? Nope.

Sales alleges that Lupina started the fight and left her with bruised arms.

And if you think these ladies might have a hard time living together after this, you're right.

It apparently was the last straw. Now Sales wants to move out and has filed a civil lawsuit over their home.

Sales moved in with Lupina a couple of years ago and helped pay off Lupina's mortgage after selling her Arizona home. The idea was that they'd both save expenses by living together.

Sales wants to get her name off the house title, and has asked a judge to order Lupina to return her money, which could force Lupina to buy out Sales or sell the home, Haney said.

Yikes.

You've probably heard someone say that TV is like a drug. Well, this story certainly bolsters that notion. Per the Northwest Florida Daily News:

Natasha Lynn Head, a 34-year-old Fort Walton Beach woman, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after she picked up a knife and told the victim he was going to leave "in a body bag," according to her Fort Walton Beach Police Department arrest report.

Yes, the fight started over a remote control!

She and the victim had been arguing over the television remote control, which he hid from her so she could not watch television in the bedroom, according to the report.

The victim said Head charged at him with the knife, which caused him to hide in the bathroom and call 911, the report said.

Her defense?

Head told police she never intended to harm the victim and only got the knife so she could break into the bathroom and get the remote.

What? Like you've never used a knife to open a door? Here's the source, mug shot and all.

Per the St. Petersburg Times:

To prove he's incompetent to stand trial on multiple felony charges, Robert Sinclaire Lee hid a razor in his mouth and used it to cut his wrist in court.

He smeared feces on his face.

And Monday, he entered a courtroom with feces hidden in his jail jacket pocket.

Did it work? Nope. Why not? Well, among other evidence of malingering,

Prosecutors also have jail phone call recordings on which Lee laughs about acting "crazy."

Who knew that prisoner's phone calls were monitored, other than EVERYONE (except Lee)? To read more, click here.

So what happened at the trial? Guilty. You can read more here.

The Juice really doesn't know where to start with this Maryland law, so here it is:

A person may not sell or offer for sale a contraceptive device, whether or not advertised as a prophylactic, by means of a vending machine or other automatic device at a kindergarten, nursery school ...

So, that means no "condom" slot in the soda machine? How will the teachers cavort safely? Maryland, what have you done? Click here to read the statute.

It's a big world, and there are lots of different fighting styles - boxing, kung fu, jujitsu (jiu-jitsu), MMA, taekwondo, to name a few. And then there's this gent's fighting style, unlikely to be replicated by anyone, ever. As reported by The Santa Cruz Sentinel:

A 24-year-old Santa Cruz man was arrested Sunday after police got a call complaining that a drunken man was being disruptive and challenging people to fight, police said.

Officers arrived near West Cliff Drive and Pelton Avenue near Lighthouse Field about 1:45 p.m. and found that Dimitri Z. Storm had encountered an opponent who took him up on his challenge to fight, Sgt. Dave Perry said.

Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

When the man didn't back down, Storm dropped his pants, exposing himself, and then inserted a finger in his own rectum, Perry said.

Whoa. That's going to make it kinda hard to fight, don't you think?

Police also found him with a small pair of brass knuckles and arrested him on suspicion of indecent exposure, with a prior, being drunk in public, fighting and possession of brass knuckles, records show.

Maybe he was reaching for the brass knuckles and missed, badly? You'll find the source here.

This is not a question a court security officer should be asking. But hey, what are you supposed to do with that thing when you go to the restroom? Clearly, not this. As reported by The New Hampshire Union Leader:

According to New Hampshire State Police, officers from Troop D responded to Concord District Court at 1:30 p.m. Friday to investigate a report that a court security officer had a sidearm that was unaccounted for.

Uh-oh.

Court Security Officer Julie Bickford reported that her sidearm was missing from her holster, and that she believed that she might have misplaced the gun while using a bathroom.

Not to cast aspersions, but really? You just up and lost your gun? While on duty?

The courthouse was searched by troopers, a K-9 team, and court security personnel, but the weapon was not located.

Let's go to the videotape ...

State police reviewed Concord District Court security tapes and identified a female, Courtney Rojek, 24, of Pittsfield, seen exiting the women's bathroom with a handgun in her hand within minutes of Bickford exiting the women's bathroom.

Police said Rojek was seen placing the semi-automatic handgun on a table in the vestibule just outside the bathroom, and motioning a male subject over to her, identified by police as Jacob Noury, 33, of Barnstead.

On video, state police say Noury was seen handling the handgun and then placing it in Rojek's waistband. Rojek and Noury are then seen exiting the court and leaving in a vehicle.

Did it really not occur to them that there are cameras in the courthouse?

Arrest warrants were initiated for Rojek and Noury for Class A felony charges of theft of lost or mislaid property and Class b felony charges for possession of a firearm in a district or superior court facility.

State police, along with Chichester police, located both Rojek and Noury at a tattoo parlor owned by Noury on Route 4 in Chichester Saturday evening. Both were taken into custody without incident.

A search warrant was requested and granted for Noury's residence in Barnstead. A search was conducted and the missing sidearm, a Glock 40mm semi-automatic pistol, was located inside the residence, according to police.

Noury and Rojek were held on $10,000 cash bail at the Merrimack County Jail. They are due to be arraigned Monday, in Concord District Court.

It's not known whether Officer Bickford was disciplined, though it's hard to imagine the consequences of losing your gun, while on duty in the courthouse, would not be severe. Here's the source.

Judges can do many things to end up facing discipline. They can skip out on work too much. They can treat parties poorly. They can disrespect lawyers who appear before them. Or, as a Pennsylvania disciplinary court found regarding Allentown District Judge Maryesther Merlo, all of the above, per The Morning Call.

Regarding attendance:

Merlo had a habit of calling out of work when dozens of hearings were scheduled and litigants, police and attorneys were assembled in her courtroom, her staff testified. According to the decision, Merlo missed 116 days of work from September 2007 to December 2009.

"This is not to mention that on the days when [Merlo] did come to work, she was never on time — she was always late," the court added.

Former Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt and Court Administrator Gordon Roberts testified their efforts to address her work habits fell on deaf ears. The disciplinary court noted Merlo's explanation that her absences were excused because she never took vacation was belied by the fact she did take 49 days of vacation during the period at issue.

Excellent work habits. How did she treat parties and witnesses?

In one case, Merlo described a young man who appeared in court with his mother on a traffic offense as "a dog who needs to be retrained." In another case, she ordered deputy sheriffs to arrest a woman who had been counseled by her lawyer not to testify to avoid incriminating herself, according to the decision.

[There was also testimony about] bizarre courtroom behavior, including an episode in which she ordered a defendant to call himself "scumbag."

And the court examined Merlo's conduct in 10 cases and found six in which her demeanor constituted a violation of the rules of conduct. Witnesses testified Merlo's behavior was often demeaning, intimidating and offensive.

Okay. But what about Judge Merlo's side of the story?

In each of the six cases, the court found the witnesses who complained about Merlo's behavior to be more credible than the judge.

Doh! That hurts.

The state disciplinary court examined Merlo's demeanor during truancy hearings, noting her practice of continuing cases to give the kids "a second chance" interfered with the district's efforts to discipline students with attendance problems. Her own tardiness set a poor example for the students, the court noted.

Suzette Arcelay, a school counselor, testified Merlo's behavior was often rude and erratic, including an episode in which Merlo told her to "shut up."

Judge Merlo has the option of appealing the findings. You can read more here.

Update: Judge Merlo was removed from the bench. She has appealed this decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. You can read more about it here.

Sometimes "fans" truly are "fanatics." Something happened during the Falcons-Seahawks game this weekend that set a strange chain of events in motion. Per tcpalm.com:

According to an arrest affidavit, the family was watching the game when the 56-year-old Crawford made rude comments about an unidentified player. That led to a family argument and his threatening other people in the house. The argument continued outside where, according to the affidavit, he was quoted as saying he was going to kill everyone "by breaking their necks and spitting on their grave.

Whoa there buddy. How do you get from comments about a player to spitting, er, mass murder?

He allegedly spit on someone just before police arrived and arrested him [for domestic battery] at 2:45 p.m. at the home in the 1300 block of Southeast Floresta Drive.

Thank goodness he just did the spitting part.

On Monday he remained in jail under a $1,500 bail bond.

Click here for the source.

Who burgles a joint and leaves a perfectly good laptop behind? And in case you're wondering, it was out in the open, as you will soon see. As reported by tcpalm.com:

In a case police are calling unique, a homeowner used his laptop computer video camera to capture a photo of a suspect breaking into his home.

Boom!

The homeowner left the computer on while he was gone. The footage led to the arrest of a friend, a 28-year-old man the homeowner has known since they were roommates in college, according to a sheriff's report.

Former "friend," that is.

Normally, investigators end up with just footprints or fingerprints and are left wondering if those prints are linked to a crime. This time, they had a visual recording of the incident and the homeowner's identification of the person led to the arrest of Eric Rayburn, 28, of the 1900 block of Southeast Bellevue Avenue, Port St. Lucie.

Rayburn voluntarily came in for questioning and deputies quoted him as saying he goes to the house all the time and was dropping by to talk.

Bet the cops enjoyed this next bit.

Then investigators showed him the camera recording.

Bam!

Rayburn, who said he works in medical supplies, told investigators he was delivering a Federal Express package. Investigators challenged that, saying there was no package in his hand in the video that was running at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, 2012.

Then he asked to talk to an attorney and stopped talking with deputies.

He is charged with burglary of a dwelling [a cash box was reported missing] and second degree theft.

Here's the source.