Stupid people of the week

U.S. woman detained in Russia after walking calf on Red Square

A U.S. woman was detained and fined by a Russian court on Wednesday for walking a calf on Moscow’s Red Square that she said she had bought to save from slaughter, Russian state media reported.

Alicia Day, 34, was fined 20,000 roubles ($285) for obstructing pedestrians in an unauthorised protest and sentenced to 13 days of “administrative arrest” on a separate charge of disobeying police orders.

“I bought the calf so that it wouldn’t be eaten,” TASS news agency quoted her as saying.

Video shared by state media showed Day explaining that she had got a driver to bring the calf to Red Square by car. “I wanted to show it a beautiful place in our beautiful country,” she said.

The U.S. embassy did not immediately comment when asked about the case.

Day had been living in a suburb of Moscow on a tourist visa, the RIA news agency said, and had carried out similar acts of protest before in other countries.

In 2019, the Daily Mail newspaper reported that she had “rescued” a pig she named Jixy Pixy from slaughter in western England, brought it to London by taxi and taken it for walks and restaurant meals, but had to hand it to an animal welfare charity after her landlord discovered she was keeping it in a small apartment.

($1 = 70.15 roubles)

Source; Yahoo!

Dismembered human penis found at Alabama gas station

Don’t be alarmed, folks. Dismembered penises are apparently quite common in this part of Alabama.

A shocked customer at an Alabama gas station found a human penis in the parking lot, according to cops.

The dismembered member was found shortly after 6 a.m. Monday at a gas station on Interstate 10 in Mobile, according to local newspaper Lagniappe, which cited multiple sources.

However, the Mobile Police Department told the outlet that the shocking discovery was not being investigated as an assault or a murder.

The force separately told the Daily Caller that the working assumption is that the horrid find was likely tied to the deadly crash of a motorcyclist that same morning.

Christopher Means, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene after losing control and being “struck by multiple vehicles,” police said, noting how only “one driver remained at the scene.”

Source; NY Post

Former Police Union Vice Chair Arrested For Fraud, Working At Whole Foods While On MPD’s Clock

The former vice chair of D.C. Police Union, Medgar Webster Sr., was arrested on Saturday for allegedly defrauding the D.C. government by working a second job at Whole Foods Market while reporting as on duty for the Metropolitan Police Department.

Webster is charged with first degree felony fraud. If convicted, he faces steep fines or imprisonment of up to 10 years. A police department spokesperson tells DCist/WAMU that Webster is on administrative leave and has been proposed for indefinite suspension.

Washington City Paper first reported the news.

MPD paid Webster $33,845, including overtime and holiday pay, for hours he was simultaneously on the clock at Whole Foods, according to an arrest affidavit. Webster allegedly worked at two locations for the grocery chain between January 2021 and April 2022, and earned $45,946 at one of those stores along H Street Southeast.

D.C.’s officers are able to seek outside employment, according to police regulation, as long as it is authorized and does not “conflict or interfere” with department rules. But the affidavit says MPD never authorized Webster to work at Whole Foods. In addition, Webster allegedly worked 485 hours at Whole Foods at the same time he reported being on police duty, and nearly half of those hours were overtime so the department paid him additional funds.

Webster earned an hourly rate of $53.11 as an officer, which was adjusted to $79.67 for overtime work, per the affidavit.

The police spokesperson says agents discovered Webster was allegedly working a second job while on the clock at MPD during an “unrelated [Internal Affairs Division] investigation.”

Webster was being investigated for engaging in an “unwanted sexual contact” with an individual at the Whole Foods on H Street SE, DCist/WAMU reported in April 2022, or the place of his second employment. The police spokesperson declined to comment further on the investigation into sexual abuse, but Webster was reportedly not able to exercise police powers subsequently.

Police Union Chair Greggory Pemberton tells DCist/WAMU that Webster resigned from his position as vice chair almost a year ago to pursue retirement. He declined to comment further. Webster’s lawyer did not immediately respond to request for comment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Source; DCist

Bad timing: Suspect shows up pulling stolen trailer as officer investigates home in Beavercreek

An investigation of a man’s home in Beavercreek and an officer’s instincts led to nearly $10,000 in stolen property being recovered.

A Beavercreek police officer drove by the home of person known to have a criminal history when they noticed a trailer behind the home, according to a social media post by the Beavercreek Police Department.

As the officer was investigating the home a suspect, identified as Elijah Peeling, pulled up in a truck that was towing another trailer.

Peeling allegedly drove away when he saw the officer, but was stopped shortly after.

Both trailers were registered to a church in Wilmington and had been reported stolen, according to the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers also discovered the license plate on Peeling’s car was reportedly stolen from another vehicle.

Peeling was arrested and charged with fourth-degree felonies of possession of stolen property, as well as additional felony charges for the stolen license plate, according to police.

Peeling is currently in the custody of the Greene County Jail.

Source; Yahoo!

McDonald’s to remove ‘tasteless’ sign opposite Cornwall crematorium

Burger giant McDonald’s has said it will remove a “tasteless” sign opposite a crematorium in Cornwall after the unfortunate coincidental placement was pointed out by CornwallLive. Although the advertising hoarding has caused hilarity among motorists who spot it on the busy A39, others fear it may upset grieving families.

The sign, advertising the fast food chain’s McCrispy burger, is right next to a crematorium sign and has been placed on a bus stop directly opposite Penmount Crematorium on the road between Truro and Carland Cross.

One woman, whose mother-in-law was cremated at the establishment last year, said: “Although I can see the funny side, it is tasteless and I’m sure some grieving family members won’t like to see it when visiting Penmount for the funeral and cremation of a loved one.”

When a CornwallLive reporter asked people what they thought of the sign, someone replied: “I think how funny it is will probably depend on how long ago you followed the crematorium sign wearing a black tie.”

When we shared an image of the sign, it was largely greeted with hilarity. Among the comments were:

“Anyone who doesn’t find this funny are the same people that were taken into consideration when the Penmount Hotel in Newquay became Penberthy Care Home. It was thought some wouldn’t see the funny side of a building full of older folk sharing the same name as the corporation body furnace.”

“No worse than our local council entertaining the idea of allowing a crematorium to be built next door to a retirement village.”

“Fell off the chair laughing.” And, of course: “I’m lovin’ it” – the chain’s slogan.

Someone who works in advertising at sites in Cornwall said: “Not me luckily. I do have sympathy however.”

Cornwall Council, which runs the crematorium and owns the bus shelter, said it was unable to comment on the matter.

McDonald’s is taking it seriously though. When shown a photograph of the sign, a spokesperson said: “We were unaware of the road sign in the vicinity of this bus stop. However, in light of the concerns raised by CornwallLive, we have asked for our advertisement to be removed.”

Rumours that it will be replaced by a poster advertising Burger King’s flame-grilled Whopper couldn’t be substantiated as we went to press.

Source; Cornwall Live

Driver runs over man accused of pointing gun in road rage clash, California cops say

A California man faces charges that he ran over and killed another driver who confronted him in a road rage dispute, Whittier police reported.

Jeffrey Flores, 29, of Fontana, was arrested Saturday, Feb. 11, on a homicide charge, police said in a news release.

Another driver pointed a gun at Flores, who began following the vehicle to get its license plate number, the release said.

The other driver got out of his vehicle to confront Flores, who ran him over and killed him about 3:10 p.m., police said.

Investigators told KTLA the other man began pounding on the hood of Flores’ vehicle before being run over.

Officers responding to the incident found the man dead in the street, with Flores waiting nearby, the release said. A handgun was found inside the dead man’s vehicle. Police arrested Flores.

“It was the detectives’ opinion the person had ample time to distance himself from the incident,” Lt. Sam Reed told The Press-Enterprise.

Thousands of people die every year from firearm injuries in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem,” officials said. “In 2020, there were 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States – that’s about 124 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day.”

“More than half of firearm-related deaths were suicides and more than 4 out of every 10 were firearm homicides,” according to the CDC.

Whittier is a city of 85,000 people about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Source; Yahoo!

Category: Crime, Stupid Criminals