Curses, Foiled Again
William Pace said Johnnie Butts approached him at a grocery store in Randolph, Mass., and offered to sell him a bracelet and chain stamped as 14-karat gold for $100. Pace immediately recognized the gold was fake by its look and feel because he owns a jewelry store. He’s also Randolph’s chief of police and arrested Butts for attempted larceny by false pretense. (Quincy’s The Patriot Ledger)
• An unidentified suicide bomber who targeted a New Year’s Eve crowd near Moscow’s Red Square was killed hours before the planned attack when the bomb exploded while she was alone at her safe house. The device was supposed to have been triggered by an accomplice using a cell phone once she was in position to inflict maximum damage, but Russian security officials believe it was activated prematurely when someone called the cell phone to wish her a happy new year. (Britain’s The Daily Telegraph)
How Government Works
Following the deluge of leaked documents by WikiLeaks, senior officials at various U.S. government agencies received a classified memo outlining the government’s strategy to prevent further leaks. The 11-page document was promptly leaked to MSNBC. (TechSpot.com)
Explosive Sex
Authorities in Waseca, Minn., charged Terry Allen Lester, 37, with making an explosive device and hiding it in a sex toy. Lester left the sex toy at an apartment where he’d been staying with two women, who became suspicious after he left and called police. According to the criminal complaint, Lester put gunpowder, BB shot and buckshot from shotgun shells inside the sex toy with black and red wires that connected to a trigger from a cordless drill. The complaint went on to say that Lester planned to give the modified sex toy to a woman who had ended her relationship with him. (Waseca County News)
Litigation Nation
A federal appeals court ruled that Lee Paige, an undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, can proceed with his lawsuit against the U.S. government for releasing a video of him shooting himself in the foot with a Glock during a presentation about drug education at a Florida community center. The video turned up on YouTube and several television news shows. Paige insists that since the DEA had the only footage of the incident, someone with the department who had “animosity for Paige” must have posted it online or released it to the media. (Mediaite)
• Alex Good, 15, sued a golf course in Hillsboro, Ore., for $3 million after his own golf ball hit him in the eye. Good and his teammates on the Liberty High School golf team were using the practice range at Pumpkin Range Golf Club. Because it was raining, the staff set up an awning to cover the golfers teeing off. Good’s ball hit a metal post supporting the awning, ricocheted and hit him in the left eye. Even though the pole was just inches from Good’s driving mat and an obvious and observable danger, Good’s suit claims negligence. (Portland’s KATU-TV)
Salesmanship 101
Rusty Lynn Patterson, 28, showed up at neighbor Johnathen Vann’s home in Oliver Springs, Tenn., and asked if Vann wanted to buy the rifle he was carrying. Anderson County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark C. Hobbs reported that when Vann declined, Patterson hit him in the forehead with the rifle’s stock butt, demanded money and took a wallet from Vann’s pants pocket. He threatened to kill the victim if he reported the incident, then grabbed a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey and left. Vann waited until the next day to call authorities. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
Human Yule Log
Jason Leblanc, 44, a veteran firefighter in Apopka, Fla., resigned after being charged with setting fellow firefighter Jack Shumate, 25, on fire at a Christmas party. Police Officer Steve Popp said Leblanc allegedly poured lighter fluid on the victim’s legs and ignited it, causing second-degree burns. (Orlando Sentinel)
Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.
