LP Worldwide: “Masked” raiders smash and grab an ATM machine with a forklift
Officers were called out about 3 p.m. Monday on reports of a theft at the Fred Meyer store in Oregon. The 9-1-1 caller told police that he saw two stolen leaf blowers in the back of a pickup, and that the suspects were still sitting in the vehicle in the parking lot. One of the suspects, a man, drove off when police arrived. He crashed through some shrubbery on a parking lot divider, took off and jumped out of the pickup while it was still moving.
The pickup crashed into a fence near the NE Halsey Street intersection. Police said a passenger holding a two-year-old child got out, ran from police, and tried to open the doors of passing cars. She eventually opened up a car’s door and “threw the toddler inside,” according to a police report. She then started to hit one of the pursuing officers. Police eventually took both suspects into custody. The man was taken to the hospital because he “swallowed illegal narcotics” before his arrest, police said. The woman was taken to the hospital for a pre-existing condition. The officer who was assaulted by the woman and another officer involved in the chase went to the hospital with minor injuries. The toddler was unhurt in the incident and is now with child protective services. Police will release the names of the suspects and their charges once they’ve been booked into the Multnomah County Jail. [Source: KATU2 News]
Townsville man bested by cash register in botched robbery attempt [Video]
If you just go by movies made about crime capers and bank robberies, it would be easy to get the impression that a lot of robberies are planned far in advance, with every possible thing that could go wrong thought about and planned for. In actuality, a lot of criminal activity is spontaneous, and incredibly stupid. And sometimes, when it doesn’t go as planned for the crime-doer is very funny, especially when nobody else is involved in the attempt. Take for example this footage released of a robbery attempt in Australia. A man enters a shop with a vague plan. He waits until nobody is behind the counter, runs straight for the cash register and tries to open it. When that fails, he grabs the cash register and tries to run off with it. We don’t want to spoil what happens next, but let’s just say it is a series of misfortunes for him, and a series of laughs for us. [Source: Pedestrian]
When bank robbers overdraw their luck account
Bank robberies, even the quirky ones, are serious business. People get killed, hurt or emotionally traumatized by these events. And as scary as it is for victims, sometimes the perpetrator’s story is just as sad, even in cases that appear funny at first glance – like this man who robbed a bank in a Captain America T-shirt while his four kids waited in the car outside (he was trying to dodge eviction), or this one who robbed multiple banks on a bicycle but turned out to have an undiagnosed psychiatric condition. Fortunately, some of the weirdest bank robberies are just plain funny at the expense of no one in particular. Go ahead and laugh at these real-life heists gone wrong.
He Thought It Was Funny
Alexander Sperber, a 25-year-old Florida man, decided to kick-start his comedy career by robbing a bank and then running naked down the street throwing the stolen money at bystanders as he passed. He held the tellers at “gunpoint” – and by gunpoint, we mean he made a finger gun with his index finger and thumb and pointed it at bank employees. Sperber made no effort to obscure his identity. A red dye packet planted in the bag of cash handed to him by a teller exploded on his clothing and a clearly visible cast on his arm, making him even more distinct. Police reportedly questioned Sperber’s health, but he was found to be coherent and uninjured, local sources reported. The only thing “crazy” about him was his belief that the stunt would land him on a comedy stage rather than in a prison cell for the next several years.
That’s Not Kosher
Also in Florida, a delivery truck was stolen from a local kosher bakery and deli while its driver was stopped on his delivery route. The van – white, with the word “Bakery” distinctly stamped across the side, was used as a getaway vehicle in a bank robbery later that week. Police found the truck abandoned hours after the incident but did not locate the criminals. [Many More: PYMNTS]
German police seize thousands of “Trump” ecstasy tablets
German police say they have seized thousands of tablets of the party drug ecstasy in the shape of Donald Trump’s head, a haul with an estimated street value of 39,000 euros ($45,900.) Police in Osnabrueck, in northwestern Germany, say they found the drugs while checking an Austrian-registered car on the A30 highway on Saturday. They say the people in the car, a 51-year-old man and his 17-year-old son, told officers they had been in the Netherlands to buy a vehicle but hadn’t succeeded so were returning home. Officers said they found about 5,000 of the orange, Trump-shaped ecstasy tablets along with a large, but unspecified quantity of cash. A judge on Sunday ordered the father and son kept in custody. The car was seized and towed away. [Source: Dunya News]
Two accused of theft get locked in store, break glass to flee
Police say a Connecticut woman and her 12-year-old daughter were locked inside a convenience store by an employee who suspected them of stealing, and they kicked out the store’s glass doors to escape. The girl is also accused of using a stun gun on the 7-Eleven worker. Police say 41-year-old Bridgeport resident Dorsey Saunders and her daughter were locked in the Fairfield store Sunday night by a clerk who said they stole energy drinks. The Connecticut Post reports they kicked out the glass and ran into the parking lot, where the girl used the stun gun. Saunders and her daughter face several charges, including larceny. The mother was charged with impairing the morals of a minor. Saunders denied stealing and told police she broke the doors because she was scared. [Source: CTpost]