Criminal Mind, The

Good Reason to Kill #5: Insisted on Riding “Shotgun”

This doesn't beat #1 (Used the Last Roll of Toilet Paper) or  #2 (Disputed Yahtzee Rules), and it was only an attempted killing, but it does deserve to be on the list. On September 16, police in Shreveport, Louisiana, said…


Request for Grey Poupon Has Unexpected Result

It appears that a driver’s request for a bit of Grey Poupon was rather rudely rejected on June 18, according to documents obtained by The Smoking Gun. Most likely, the request was made in fond remembrance of the famous commercials…


Taser Caper Results in Prison for Father-Son Team

On June 20, Paul Crowell of Waukesha, Wisconsin, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to "possession of an electric weapon," namely a Taser that he had stolen from a police officer. Crowell's father has pleaded guilty…


Poorly Faked Heart Attack Fails to Result in Mistrial

This story shows the importance of proper training before appearing in a courtroom, even (well, especially) if one has decided to represent oneself.  And depending on the strategy, acting lessons may be a good idea. Keison Wilkins may have thought…



UPDATE: Both “Thong Bandits” in Custody

As predicted, the "disguises" employed by the Thong Bandits during their robbery of a convenience store in May did little to help them avoid arrest.  Police in Arvada, Colorado, announced last Friday that Joseph Espinoza and Joaquin Rico had turned…



Gallery of Bad Disguises, #4: The Thong Bandits

Before too long there will be enough material of this kind to create a separate category or gallery of Bad Disguises.  Previous candidates would include the Duct Tape Bandit and the Tree That Robbed a Bank, and to those we…


Everything’s Bigger in Texas — Including Bad Checks

Saying he was planning to start a record company, Charles Fuller tried to cash a large check at a bank in Fort Worth last week.  Problems with this story included: One does not normally start record companies using cash; and…


UPDATE: “Duct Tape Bandit” Pleads Guilty

The improbably named "Kasey G. Kazee," better known to history as the "Duct Tape Bandit," pleaded guilty on April 29 to robbing a Kentucky liquor store.  The robbery failed despite the fact that Kazee had carefully prepared for the robbery…