Swiss police arrest 80-year-old
man for masked bank robbery
Berlin (AP) – Swiss authorities say they have apprehended an 80-year-old man on allegations he robbed a bank near the city of Lucerne. Lucerne canton (state) prosecutors said Tuesday the man, who was arrested the previous day in the Lucerne area, had confessed to the December masked robbery of the bank in Meggen. The suspect’s name wasn’t released in line with privacy laws and further details weren’t immediately available. At the time of the robbery, police released a photo of the suspect showing him wearing a black mask, clutching a blue plastic bag of money as he robbed the bank before he fled on foot. They said it wasn’t clear if he was armed, and did not say how much money he got away with.
Russian police face the unexpected:
crocodile in basement
St. Petersburg, Russia (AP) – Russian police had an unexpected encounter while searching a house in St. Petersburg – a crocodile in the basement. The Fontanka.ru news portal said the incident happened Thursday while detectives were looking for undeclared weapons in the house of a man involved in staging reconstructions of historic military battles with period uniforms and antique weaponry. When they went down, they saw a crocodile resting in a small pool of water dug in concrete basement. The owner of the house explained that he got the crocodile years ago. City prosecutors said Friday they were checking whether the man was complying with local laws.
Doughnut-eating champ charged with stealing from Dunkin’
Elizabeth City, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina man who made headlines when he was caught for break-ins after winning a doughnut-eating contest has been arrested again. And this time he’s accused of stealing from a doughnut shop. The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reports 27-year-old Bradley Hardison of Elizabeth City was charged Thursday with stealing from a Dunkin’ Donuts in November. An Elizabeth City Police Department statement says he’s charged with felonies including breaking and entering and larceny. It wasn’t clear if he helped himself to any doughnuts. A phone listing for Hardison rang disconnected. The Virginian-Pilot reported that in 2014, Hardison won a doughnut-eating contest put on by Elizabeth City police while he was wanted on suspicion of several break-ins. Investigators said they arrested Hardison after his win prompted further scrutiny, and he was convicted, according to the paper.
Headless chickens found
in Connecticut courtroom
Bridgeport, Conn. (AP) – Authorities in Connecticut are investigating the discovery of two decapitated chickens inside a courtroom. Judicial marshals and maintenance staff investigating a putrid smell made the grisly discovery Wednesday morning in the public seating area of a courtroom in a state courthouse in Bridgeport. The headless chickens were under a bench. Authorities say the carcasses were decorated in silver, green and gold glitter. There was no immediate indication how the decapitated chickens got there and the discovery is under investigation. The Connecticut Post reports that decapitated chickens have been found outside city courthouses before, but never inside. The placement of decapitated chickens is used in Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean religion, to protect a person from being found guilty of a crime.
Cops: Maine man punches self
in face to avoid sobriety test
Belfast, Maine (AP) – Police in Maine have accused a man of punching himself in the face three times to avoid a sobriety test. Police in the town of Belfast say they found 27-year-old Brian Fogg in his car, stuck in a ditch last week. WGME-TV reports police said when they tried to test for his blood-alcohol level, Fogg punched himself in the face, causing himself to bleed. Police tended to his injuries instead of giving him the test, but later charged him with operating under the influence, falsifying physical evidence and criminal mischief. Fogg’s been released on bail. He has an unpublished number and it wasn’t immediately known if he had a lawyer.
