Naked Man Accused Of Pounding On Cars

A man who told officers he was a medical marijuana provider has been arrested for allegedly standing naked in a Colorado highway, pounding on passing cars and spitting at a state trooper.

Dustin Robbins, 27, of Westminster, faces 13 counts including indecent exposure, assault and driving under the influence of marijuana.

Robbins was arrested Sept. 25 on U.S. 34 east of Greeley. Witnesses told investigators he was cursing at cars and hitting some.

Two women in their 70s and 80s told deputies a naked man jumped on the hood of their car, broke windows, walked across the roof and jumped off the back. Damage was estimated at $1,200.

Authorities said Robbins spat on the state trooper who arrested him.

Deputies said he told them he was a medical marijuana provider, and they found certificates for medical marijuana but no state provider’s license.

State officials said records of licensed providers aren’t public.

Robbins is jailed under $50,000 bail. No phone listing could be found for him and it wasn’t known if he had a lawyer.

A Really Bad First Date

Police in Michigan say a first date went from bad to worse when a Detroit man skipped out on the restaurant bill, then stole his date’s car.

Police say 23-year-old Terrance Dejuan McCoy had dinner with a woman April 24 at Buffalo Wild Wings in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale. The woman says the two met a week earlier at a Detroit casino and she knew McCoy only as “Chris.”

The woman told police that McCoy said he left his wallet in her car and asked for keys. He then sped away in the 2000 Chevrolet Impala.

The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak reports that police identified McCoy by a photo he’d sent to the woman’s cell phone, and his phone number.

McCoy is charged with unlawfully taking the car, a five-year felony. He waived a preliminary exam and was bound over for trial.

Japanese Police Fight Shoplifting Wave By Seniors

Tokyo police will try to rein in a wave of shoplifting by lonely elderly people by involving them in community service, a police spokesman.

One out of four elderly shoplifters in the capital blamed their crime on loneliness, Japanese media quoted a police survey as saying.  Another 8 percent said it was because they had “no reason to live.”

More than half the elderly shoplifters said they had no friends and 40 percent of them lived alone, media said.

“Making shoplifters do volunteer work in the community is effective,” the Tokyo Shimbun quoted J.F. Oberlin University professor Akihiro Sakai, head of a police research panel set up to tackle shoplifting, as saying.

“Instead of increased punishment, I hope we can rehabilitate shoplifters with special care.”

A police spokesman declined to confirm the details of the survey but said it would be released to the public soon.

Elderly shoplifting cases in Tokyo reached all-time highs last year, nearly catching up with the number of cases involving young offenders.

People 65 years or older accounted for 23 percent of the 17,800 known shoplifting cases in 2008, more than doubling in the past five years, media said.

An example cited in the Ministry of Justice’s annual report on crime describes a 76-year-old woman who turned to shoplifting several years ago as a way to battle loneliness after her parents died.

Over 20 percent of Japan’s population is aged 65 or over, with that figure set to double by 2050.

Naked Arrest Spurs Sympathy For SMAP Star

What’s wrong with being naked?

That’s what a Japanese TV star asked police who arrested him for public indecency when he was found drunk, naked and screaming in a Tokyo park in the early hours of the morning last week.

His words struck a chord with the public and have now become the slogan on a new range of T-shirts sold by online retailer ClubT.

“They are definitely selling,” said company spokeswoman Nanako Shibuya, who said she could not give precise figures.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, 34, who shot to fame 20 years ago as a member of boy band SMAP, resisted arrest and was bundled into a police vehicle wrapped in a blanket, media reports said.  Police questioned him at length and also searched his home.

Prosecutors decided not to charge Kusanagi, media reports said.

But the incident has sparked sympathy for Kusanagi. Many Japanese complained the slight, serious-looking actor was treated too harshly, especially after he appeared close to tears during a news conference he called to apologise for his behaviour.

One fan threatened online to attack the Akasaka police station where he was held, the Asahi newspaper reported.

More coverage: http://alindenauer.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/star-found-naked-in-park/

Watch Thieves Hide Behind Flu Masks

Three armed thieves wore the blue surgical masks now ubiquitous in flu-hit Mexico City to hide their faces as they robbed watches from a department store, Mexican media reported.

Employees and security guards at a branch of the Sanborns department store told the daily Excelsior the thieves were able to slip through the shop without attracting attention as they blended into a sea of masked shoppers.

One of the robbers threatened store assistants with a gun while another guarded the door and the third helped himself to watches from the jewelry department.

Mexico is in the grip of a new strain of flu that has killed up to 149 people and set off a major global health scare after infecting people in the United States, Canada and Europe, raising fears of a flu pandemic.

Banks in the Mexican capital have been forced to abandon normal rules over not letting in customers wearing face coverings as the government took emergency measures over the weekend and advised residents in the crowded city to wear face masks at all times outside their homes.

SMAP Star Found Naked In Park

Media helicopters hovered overhead and photographers camped out in front of Japan’s top talent agency after one of television’s cleanest-cut stars was arrested for public indecency.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of the pop group SMAP was found drunk and naked in a public park in Tokyo, his agency said in a statement.  He was alone and shrieking at the top of his voice, media reports said.

“What’s wrong with being naked?”  he demanded of a police officer who tried to question him after receiving a complaint about the noise, Kyodo news agency said.

Kusanagi, 34, shot to fame almost 20 years ago as a member of SMAP, the popular boy band whose five members have gone on to monopolise Japanese TV screens in everything from drama to variety and even cookery shows.

The slender Kusanagi is seen as perhaps the most serious of the five, known for his acting skills and fluency in Korean, which brought him fame in South Korea.

“He has such a clean image,” one woman told commercial broadcaster TBS.  ”He doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

Kusanagi’s agency, Johnny & Associates, a big name in the Japanese entertainment world, issued an apology.

“We apologise deeply for the trouble and worry caused to everyone, especially his fans,” the agency said in a statement.

Judge Orders Defendant’s Mouth Taped Shut

An Idaho judge who lost patience with the disruptive behavior of a defendant ordered court officials to tape the man’s mouth shut with duct tape during a court hearing.

The unusual move was ordered by 6th District Judge Peter D. McDermott during a probation violation hearing for Nicklas Frasure.

Frasure was convicted of felony theft in 2008, but the judge retained jurisdiction for sentencing depending on Frasure’s response to treatment.  In October, Frasure was released from a state mental hospital in Blackfoot.

He is accused of violating his probation by not taking prescribed medication.

During the hearing, witnesses told the judge that Frasure’s behavior had been strange and erratic since his release from the state hospital.  They also said he has not been taking his medication and has been consuming alcohol, factors also contributing to mood and emotional swings.

Probation officer Julie Guiberson testified that Frasure is a threat to himself and others.

During the hearing, Frasure interrupted the proceedings with repeated verbal outbursts and unusual behavior and ignored several orders from McDermott to restrain himself. After another series of outbursts, McDermott told bailiffs to silence Frasure.

The bailiffs then found a roll of duct tape, tore off a piece and put it over Frasure’s mouth, according to the Idaho State Journal.

Bogus Waiter Rips-Off Diners In Hoboken

Police say a man posing as a waiter collected $186 in cash from diners at two restaurants in New Jersey and walked out with the money in his pocket.

Diners described the bogus waiter as a spikey-haired 20-something wearing a dark blue or black button-down shirt, yellow tie and khaki pants.

Police say he approached two women dining at Hobson’s Choice in Hoboken, N.J. around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday. He asked if they needed anything else before paying. They said no and handed him $90 in cash.

About two hours later he approached three women dining at Margherita’s Pizza and Cafe.  He asked if they were ready to pay, took $96 and never returned with their change.

Oy Vey! Former Israeli President Charged With Rape

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was indicted on rape and other sexual offense charges, after calling off a plea deal that would have allowed him to escape jail time.

The 63-year-old Iranian-born Katsav was charged with raping a woman who once worked for him, in addition to lesser sex crimes involving two other former employees.  The indictment was filed in Tel Aviv district court nearly three years after the case broke.

Katsav, who has insisted he is innocent, had no immediate comment. No trial date has been set.

Attorney General Meni Mazuz notified the former president two weeks ago that he would be charged.

The charges against Katsav are the most serious allegations ever brought against an Israeli leader.

Although Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial position, the allegations roiled the country by portraying the man who was supposed to be Israel‘s moral compass as a predatory boss who forced himself on female employees.

Katsav was replaced by elder statesman and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres.

What Would You Do For A Klondike Bar?

Fort Pierce, Florida authorities said a man shoved an ice cream bar down his pants and then offered a Texaco station store owner $69 not to turn him in for shoplifting.

The owner told police that a 65-year-old man tried to sneak the Klondike bar, along with packages of Ramen noodles andFamous Amos cookies, out of the store without paying.

When the store owner confronted the man as he tried the leave the store, the owner reported that the man pulled the flattened ice cream snack out of his back pocket and offered the owner $69 for it.

The owner called police, and the man was charged with retail theft and violation of probation charges. He was being held on $500 bail.