Fun_People Archive
29 Apr
More stupid criminal tricks & a stupid court trick, too

Date: Fri, 29 Apr 94 12:18:42 PDT
To: Fun_People
Subject: More stupid criminal tricks & a stupid court trick, too

Forwarded-by: bostic@vangogh.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Keith Bostic)
From: WEIRDNUZ.323 (News of the Weird, April 15, 1994)
by Chuck Shepherd

* In January in Riverside, Calif., the fiancee of Frank Cisco Bridges, 43,
bailed him out of jail on burglary charges on the morning of their scheduled
wedding, then decided to go through with the ceremony. Later that evening,
Bridges, who was reported to have AIDS, was arrested and charged with raping
a 7-year-old girl at the reception.  Bridges's new wife is a San Bernardino
County, Calif., probation officer. [Oakland Tribune-AP, 1-29-94]

* In July in Grasse, France, the two men who had taken $10 million in jewels
at gunpoint on the Riviera three days earlier were captured when a traffic
cop ticketed them for failure to wear their seat belts.  The same month, the
number two person in the Colombia Medellin drug cartel, Victor Hugo Polo,
was arrested in Orlando, Fla., when he tried to shoplift several items from
a store at Universal Studios. [L. A. Times, 7-8-93; AP wirecopy, 7-20-93]

* Joel P. Matlock, 29, and Timothy L. Muhammed, 32, were arrested in Topeka,
Kan., in December after engaging in an alleged drug deal in front of the
Topeka police station.  According to an officer, the men said they had
decided to do the deal there to discourage each of them from killing the
other after the deal was over. [Topeka Capital-Journal, 12-18-93]

* In Bay City, Mich., in December, according to prosecutor John Keuvelaar,
a man who had initially pleaded not guilty to theft changed his plea to
guilty after being informed that his girlfriend was out in the hallway
showcasing to her friends the four rings he was charged with stealing.
[Flint Journal, 12-3-93]

* In February, pediatric orthopedist William Zink of Orlando, Fla., was
detained by authorities pending further investigation of charges of fondling
young boys who were his patients.  According to authorities, one mother
complained that in the course of 35 office visits by her son for foot
problems, the boy was given gloveless rectal exams 15 times; another said
her son received a rectal exam before surgery on an ingrown toenail.  Zink's
attorney, Kirk Kirkconnell, said the charges reflect differences in
"interpretation of the way he practices medicine.  You are going to have a
difference of opinion." [Orlando Sentinel, 2-19-94]

* Police arrested James Mullin, 17, in Schaumburg, Ill., in February after
he tried to buy beer at Cove Liquor by using a stolen ID card--that of
"Douglas Sharbaugh."  The man behind the counter at Cove Liquor knew it was
stolen because he is Douglas Sharbaugh, who had had his license taken in a
truck break-in two months earlier.  Mullin fled but left his wallet, which
contained his real driver's license. [Chicago Tribune, 2-5-94]

* In September a Baltimore, Md., county judge released Daniel O'Toole Jr.
from a state hospital for violent criminals, where he had been confined
since 1986 despite numerous petitions for his freedom.  Instead of
confessing his guilt that year to a drunken driving charge, O'Toole had
chosen to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.  He was sent to the
hospital for examination, found to be a "danger to the community," and had
been there ever since. [Baltimore Sun, 10-3-93]

* In February, Chattanooga, Tenn., criminal court judge Doug Meyer released
accused rapist Vincent L. Cousin, who once said that "voices" told him to
rape, pending a hearing a month later.  Rejecting requests that Cousin be
released only with supervision, Judge Meyer said, "I don't think he needs
it, really.  I think what he needs--he needs a girlfriend [so] he won't have
bad dreams again," said Meyer.  Turning to Cousin's lawyer, he said, "We'll
let you arrange a dating service or something."  Three days later, after
Cousin failed to attend a required counseling session, Judge Meyer had him
taken into custody. [Tuscaloosa News-AP, 2-19-94]

Copyright 1994, Universal Press Syndicate.  All rights reserved.
Released for the personal use of readers.  No commercial use may be
made of the material or of the name News of the Weird.

© 1994 Peter Langston