Articles Posted in Oops

It takes some doing but, yes, you can. A 63-year-old Floridian named Mary Davis found this out the hard way. She was pissed off when the police, who came to her house in response to a domestic dispute, arrested her son. As reported by the Florida Times-Union:

… [Ms.] Davis, attempted to leave in her car, according Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson. When Davis put the vehicle in reverse and attempted to leave, a deputy standing in the open driver’s door of the van had to jump out of the way, Dobson said. Davis instead backed into a riding lawnmower, fell from the vehicle and was run over. The van then rammed into a Sheriff’s Office vehicle.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Not to worry, though. Her injuries “weren’t life-threatening.”

Following up on yesterday’s Legal Juice post, it appears that Captain Decker is an f-bomber himself, and an s-bomber! (The guy is probably an honorable public servant. Regular Juice readers know, though, that it irks the Juice when people make a big deal about so-called “bad” words.) As reported in the Galveston County Daily News:

In an apparent domestic dispute, Stephen Taylor complained to Dickinson police and a League City justice of the peace, accusing Decker of threatening him with profane language within earshot of Taylor’s freightened 9-year-old daughter. According to [Stephen Taylor’s] affidavit, Decker and Taylor’s ex-wife were dating at the time.

A judge on Aug. 29, 2007, issued an arrest warrant for Decker on a Class B misdemeanor terroristic threat charge.

Many of you are too young to have watched “The Odd Couple” on tv. There’s a courtroom scene (see above) in which Felix is representing his buddy Oscar. Felix warns the court that, when you “assume,” you make an “ass” of “u” and “me.” That would apply in this case from Sweet Home, Oregon. Sweet Home resident Richard Bryan Smith has the misfortune of sharing his name – and birth date! – with a registered sex offender. Per the Albany Democrat-Herald,

… someone printed and distributed flyers from a California sex offender watch list bearing the picture and registration information for the offender named Smith. Below the printout information was a handwritten note with the Sweet Home Smith’s address and the message: “He has relocated … Right down our street!”

Neighbors Ray and Tracy Kelly admit making the flyer, but say they only gave it to one neighbor. Mr. Smith believes otherwise, and is suing Mr. and Mrs. Kelly for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

That’s what Bob Nicks was threatened with by the Performing Rights Society (PRS), which collects royalties for musicians – a lawsuit for one penny. Per the Evening Chronicle:

The not-for-profit organisation says any boss who plays music to their workers or customers through a radio at work needs a licence.

Just one problem. Mr. Nicks “says he has neither a radio nor any employees at his business, Power Tools Services, on Front Street, Dipton, County Durham…” So maybe the lawyers for the Performing Rights Society shouldn’t have sent Mr. Nicks a letter with the following language:

You may consider this debt as too small to warrant legal proceedings. However, we are firmly instructed to commence proceedings for recovery unless payment is made within seven days.

In the event of a judgement being obtained we shall seek all fixed costs and fees together with statutory interest.

The sum currently owed by yourself is relatively small and we would reasonably advise you to settle this issue forthwith without further expense and cost to yourself.

Not to worry. Things did end well for Mr. Nicks.

A PRS spokeswoman said: “PRS has reviewed the situation with Bob Nicks. Regrettably we made a mistake and we will be contacting Bob directly to apologise.

Click here if you’d like to read a little bit more.

Talk about really bad timing (or being really stoned – or both), as reported by The Maryland Coast Dispatch [Ocean City]:

On Monday evening, an OCPD officer was in the Liquor Mart on 18th Street investigating a theft when he observed a female standing at the counter paying for her purchase.

When the female customer, identified as Allison Naughton, 22, of Ocean City, pulled out her wallet to take out her driver’s license, a small bag of marijuana fell out of the wallet and onto the floor. Naughton was arrested and charged with possession and has been released.

Reverend Robert Whipkey was arrested in Frederick, Colorado for jogging naked (around the high school track) at 4:30 a.m. He was busted while walking home, still naked. So what was his defense to the indecent exposure charge? Per the Daily Camera:

Whipkey’s attorney argued his client’s actions didn’t satisfy an element of the indecent-exposure law that requires proof he “knowingly” exposed himself. Defense attorney Harvey Steinberg said Whipkey thought he was alone.

“Did he say, ‘Hey, look at me. I’m naked. Take a look at my genitals?’” Steinberg said. “When he realized for the first time that someone was out at 4:30 a.m., he immediately covered up.”

Do you think the defense worked? As Maxwell Smart would say, “missed it by that much.” The jury found Reverend Whipkey guilty. He’ll be sentenced on August 11. You can read more (a fair amount) here.

Not if you arrive at the meeting with your parole officer IN A STOLEN CAR. And parolee Marcus George had just been released from prison last week for … burglary and theft! Per the AP, turns out he took a car for a very long test drive. He never returned it! Mr. George was busted at the parole office.

… make sure you’re not drunk! This advice comes to late for William Olson, age 38, of Great Falls, Montana. He drove himself to the Highway Patrol, and turned himself in. For what? Per the Great Falls Tribune:

According to charges, Olson was driving in a Toyota 4Runner with his four children, who range in age from 3 to 13, on Morony Dam Road on Sunday.

Olson turned onto a gravel road, then sped up and pulled the emergency break in an attempt to make the vehicle spin, documents state. Olson told police he was trying to impress the kids, documents state.

Oh he impressed them, just not in the way he intended.

Instead, the vehicle rolled. The children were not in safety seats, and received minor injuries in the crash …

So after he turned himself in, the officer interviewing him smelled alcohol. Olson blew .094 (legally impaired!). And this is his 4th DUI charge! Doh! Here are the charges he’s facing, in addition to the DUI:

driving a vehicle with expired registration, driving a vehicle with plates assigned to another vehicle, failure to give notice of an accident, reckless driving, two counts of failure to have a child properly restrained, four counts of negligent vehicular assault, and obstructing justice.

Shazam! Here’s the source.