Police: Suspects' Car Too Small for Big TV

Police who charged a Cincinnati couple with stealing a big-screen television said they should have thought about a bigger car.

Police stopped Richard and Stephanie North early Wednesday when they noticed their Mercury Sable going down a road with one of the doors open. Police found a 55-inch flat-screen TV on the back seat, hanging out the door.

Earlier, police had responded to an alarm at a TV and appliance store where the window on the front door was smashed out and a Hitachi flat-panel television was missing.

Richard North was charged with breaking and entering and felony theft. His wife was charged with complicity.

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Man Drives Chip-Loaded Van Into Barracks

A man intentionally drove a delivery van loaded with potato chips through the lobby of a state police barracks early Thursday morning, authorities said.

Roy Thomas Chaivarlis, 31, of Yatesboro, was charged with aggravated assault, risking a catastrophe, driving under the influence and related offenses following the crash, which happened just after 1:30 a.m.

Police said they have dealt with Chaivarlis previously and that Chaivarlis said he hated the state police. Chaivarlis did not say why he drove into the brick building, Lt. Thomas Dubovi said.

Trooper Troy Christie was working the dispatch desk, facing the lobby, when the 1988 Dodge Ram van crashed into the lobby.

"I heard a large bang, like an explosion, and then the building shook and the lights flickered," he said. "I looked up and saw the van coming through the lobby, and jumped up and yelled to the other guys to make sure they were safe."

No one was injured, though the crash heavily damaged the building's exterior and lobby.

Chaivarlis was being held in the Armstrong County jail. It was not clear if he had an attorney.

Kittanning is about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

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Worker Locks Would-Be Robber Inside Bank

A gunman who tried to rob a San Gabriel Valley bank Wednesday morning found himself locked alone inside the building by a quick-thinking employee, police said.

The man remained inside the Bank of the West hours later, authorities said.

"The suspect's basically locked in there by himself right now," police Capt. Michael Taylor said.

The employee, whose identity was not immediately released, was heading to the bank at around 8:30 a.m. to prepare it for opening when a man met her in the parking lot and forced her inside.

Inside, the woman told the gunman that she had to deactivate the bank alarm or police would arrive but instead set it to notify police, Taylor said.

The robber asked if she could open the vault but she said it required a second worker who would be arriving in five or 10 minutes, Taylor said.

The woman looked out a window and saw police show up but the robber "had no idea they were arriving," Taylor said.

While waiting for the second employee to show up, the robber told her "to go outside and to look around and to act as though everything was normal," Taylor said.

She went out but then locked the bank door and ran to officers.

"What she did was very smart," Taylor added.

Taylor said the gunman may be tied to other bank robberies in the San Gabriel Valley, about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

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Teen Inmate Gets More Time for Pot Request

A judge changed a sentence from six months in prison to eight years after a teenager convicted in a drive-by shooting wrote a letter asking a friend to take over his marijuana dealings.

Aaron K. Lawless, 18, agreed to testify against two men who prosecutors say set up the shooting that killed 19-year-old Alisha Quillen last July. The two men were sentenced to eight years in prison while Lawless got six months. He had only 20 days left to serve.

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz gave Lawless the shorter sentence even after learning he lied about his role in the shooting.

Leibowitz changed her mind about the sentence last week after authorities intercepted a letter Lawless wrote to a friend about "pushing some weed" while he is on probation.

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Man Hires Crane to Uproot Newsstands

A man hired a crane to uproot half a dozen newsstands that were not his and move them to street corners where he had sought, but had not received, permits to do business, officials said.

"I believe he knew exactly what he was doing," Robert D. Solvibile, commissioner of licenses and inspections, said Tuesday. He said there didn't seem to be a rational basis for where the newsstands went, with one from Center City being transported to Northeast Philadelphia and another from the Northeast to Center City.

John Rocco, chairman of the Newsstand Association of Philadelphia, said he got phone calls from members who showed up for work to find their businesses gone, looked into it, and called police when he learned about the crane, calling the theft of the newsstands — candy, magazines and all — "outrageous."

The newsstands cannot be returned until detectives finish their investigation.

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Adults, teens arrested for alcohol at prom party

More than a dozen people were arrested on alcohol-related charges early Sunday when Forsyth County deputies raided a prom party at a home south of Cumming.

Forsyth sheriff’s Capt. Frank Huggins said deputies, acting on an anonymous tip about underage alcohol consumption, went to the home on Westford Cove in the Sharon Walk subdivision at 1:40 a.m.

“They found a large number of juveniles in the backyard, milling around a beer keg and drinking beer from plastic cups,” Huggins said.

The adults at the home, Kimberly Whittemore, 43, and Peter Glenn Lilja, 38, were arrested and taken to jail, Huggins said.

Whittemore, who told deputies she had purchased the keg for the party, was charged with 11 counts of furnishing alcoholic beverages to a person under 21, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of “disorderly house,” Huggins said.

Lilja was charged with three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of disorderly house.

Huggins said 11 people between the ages of 17 and 20 were taken to the Forsyth County Jail and charged with underage consumption of alcoholic beverages. Three 16-year-olds were charged on a juvenile complaint with underage consumption and released into the custody of their parents, Huggins said.

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Pa. Deputy Sheriff Accused of Lewdness

A deputy sheriff was suspended without pay for allegedly sending his neighbor a nude picture of himself and sending her messages saying he was naked in her yard, authorities said.

Anthony Fritz, 31, was suspended from the Dauphin County Sheriff's Office on March 23, when he was charged with stalking, open lewdness and two counts of harassment, county Sheriff Jack Lotwick said.

The woman, who lives across the street from Fritz in Highspire, told investigators Fritz began sending her sexually suggestive text messages from his cell phone in February, police said. She ignored them, hoping he would stop, but he continued sending her messages, "and their content got worse," police said.

On Feb. 9, he e-mailed her a photo of himself naked, police said. On March 4 and 5, he allegedly sent her text messages saying that he was behind her home naked.

Fritz has an unlisted telephone number and could not be reached for comment Thursday. His attorney, Jerry Russo, did not return a telephone message left Thursday afternoon.

None of the alleged offenses occurred while Fritz was on duty, Lotwick said.

Fritz was informed of the charges by mail and is awaiting a preliminary hearing, Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. said Thursday.

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Doc's diagnosis: Nail gun caused headache

An Oregon man who went to a hospital complaining of a headache was found to have 12 nails embedded in his skull from a suicide attempt with a nail gun, doctors say.

Surgeons removed the nails with needle-nosed pliers and a drill, and the man survived with no serious lasting effects, according to a report on the medical oddity in the current issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.

The unidentified 33-year-old man was suicidal and high on methamphetamine last year when he fired the nails -- up to 2 inches in length -- into his head one by one.

The nails were not visible when doctors first examined the man in the emergency room of an unidentified Oregon hospital a day later. Doctors were surprised when X-rays revealed six nails clustered between his right eye and ear, two below his right ear and four on the left side of his head. (Watch the X-ray showing the position of a dozen two-inch nails -- 1:43)

The study did not say how long the nails were, and a hospital spokeswoman refused to release that information. A photo published in the study suggests the nails range from 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.

No one before is known to have survived after intentionally firing so many foreign objects into the head, according to the report, written by Dr. G. Alexander West, the neurosurgeon who oversaw the treatment of the patient.

The man at first told doctors he had had a nail gun accident, but later admitted it was a suicide attempt.

The nails came close to major blood vessels and the brain stem but did not pierce them. The patient was in remarkably good condition when he was transferred to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where the nails were removed.

The patient was later transferred to psychiatric care and stayed under court order for nearly a month before leaving against doctors' orders.

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Texas Woman, 76, Faces Heroin Charges

A 76-year-old woman accused of producing and selling heroin from her home has been arrested. Esther Gomez had allegedly been selling black-tar heroin out of her home for years, according to Bexar County Sheriff's Lt. Darrell Sanders.

On Thursday, Gomez was arrested after authorities received information that led to a search warrant. She was charged with possession with intent to deliver and released on a $20,000 bond.

Sanders said Gomez ran her business for about three hours each morning as she sat on her back porch.

"It's a good cover, right?" Sanders said. "Who would ever expect it?"

Officials said they saw "several transactions," and discovered inside her home 34 grams of black-tar heroin and six grams of cut heroin inside several plastic baggies in her purse. Officers also found a coffee grinder they said was used to cut the heroin.

Sheriff's deputies also seized a 2005 Lincoln Town Car, which had been paid for in cash, a 1983 Mercedes, and about $40,000 worth of jewelry, Sanders said. According to state law, any property purchased with illegal income is subject to seizure.

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Boys Allegedly Take Car, Flag Down Deputy

Two boys who stranded a car they allegedly took without permission flagged down another car for help — and realized too late that it was a marked sheriff's cruiser.

The 16- and 14-year-olds sneaked out of their homes early Thursday morning and took a car owned by the 14-year-old's mother, police Lt. Sawley Wilde said.

After the 16-year-old high-centered the car on a dirt berm around 3 a.m., the boys flagged down a passing motorist. Wilde said the motorist turned out to be Campbell County Sheriff's Cpl. Eric Hyland, who was on patrol.

Wilde said the 14-year-old was returned to his mother and the 16-year-old, who was on juvenile probation, was taken to jail.

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"Mrs Noisy" gets year in prison

A woman who made herself a minor celebrity in Japan by constantly screaming insults at passers-by and blaring out music while beating bedding on her balcony, was sentenced to a year in jail Friday for causing physical harm.

Miyoko Kawahara, 59, kept up the assault on her neighbors' eardrums daily over a period of two and a half years, forcing at least one nearby resident to seek treatment for insomnia and headaches.

A court in the western Japanese city of Nara sentenced the woman who became known nationally as "Mrs Noisy" to a year in prison, saying she had shown no repentance for her actions, domestic media said.

Kawahara is likely to be released in about three months, after consideration for time already served.

"I am worried about what will happen when she comes back," one neighbor told reporters outside the court.

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Naked carpenter: I wanted to stay clean

A carpenter who keeps his clothes clean by working in the nude was arrested after a client returned home early and found him building bookcases in the buff.

Percy Honniball, 50, was charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure this week for the October incident.

He told officers he stripped before crawling under the client's house to do electrical work because he didn't want to soil his clothes, police said.

Honniball said Thursday that working in the nude gave him a better range of motion and that a skilled craftsman can work clothing -- and injury -- free.

"In certain situations such as demolitions where you are smashing rock you want to be clothed and protected because this rock can harm you," he said.

Honniball was caught working naked in Berkeley three times in the last six years and put on probation for violating a city ordinance. Honniball said he doesn't plan to do work in his birthday suit again.

Police said he apologized to the startled homeowner, but was fired. The homeowner paid Honniball for the finished work, but deducted $200.

"He kept out that amount to change his locks," Oakland Police Officer Jesse Grant said.

Man tried to sell baby for home improvements, police say

Danny Vu appears in court.

A man raising his 18-month-old daughter alone tried to sell the little girl for $7,000 so he could make improvements to his house, police said Friday.

The man from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, tried to sell his daughter to a Grand Chute couple, who helped authorities in the investigation, Grand Chute police Chief Ed Kopp said.

"He was having difficulties raising the child alone and wanted to use the money for some home remodeling," Kopp said.

Danny Vu, 37, was charged Friday with unauthorized adoption placement, a felony that carries up to six years in prison.

The daughter showed no signs of physical abuse, Kopp said. Brown County officials will probably place her in temporary foster care.

The man wanted to sell the girl "and didn't want anything to do with the baby after that," Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider said.

The man owns a nail salon in Green Bay. A salon employee told the man he knew a Grand Chute woman who was looking to adopt a baby, and the man and the Grand Chute woman were introduced, police said. A friend of the woman later called police.

Schneider said the couple wanted to contact attorneys and follow legal adoption procedures, but the man did not want to involve attorneys.

Police arrested the man after the Grand Chute woman called police to say he was on his way to their home with the girl Wednesday night, Kopp said.

"We obviously had some concern about the child and what condition she was in, so we made the decision to intercept him," he said.

The girl's mother left the area several months ago and is not in the country, Schneider said.

Vu was jailed in lieu of a $10,000 cash bond.

Defense attorney Eugene Bartman said Vu, who was born in Vietnam but is a U.S. citizen, has never been in trouble with police or in jail before.

Vu "understands what's going on and thinks it's very unfair," Bartman said.

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Would-Be Sports Complex Robber Strikes Out

A would-be robber who came up empty at a sports complex struck out for good when he got lost searching for an exit.

The 61-year-old man, armed with what looked like a gun, entered the Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, police said.

He first tried to hold up a woman in an office, but she had no money, according to Capt. Darlene Jenkins. He then tried to mug a man who had a wallet — which turned out empty, Jenkins said.

The frustrated robber tried to flee but got lost and couldn't find the exit, Jenkins said.

People eventually realized the man's gun was fake and held him for police. When authorities arrived, the man complained of chest pains and was taken to a hospital before police brought him to jail.

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Phony doctor gives free breast exams

A 76-year-old man claiming to be a doctor went door-to-door in a Florida neighborhood offering free breast exams, and was charged with sexually assaulting two women who accepted the offer, police said on Thursday.

One woman became suspicious after the man asked her to remove all her clothes and began conducting a purported genital exam without donning rubber gloves, investigators said.

The woman then phoned the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the suspect fled. He was arrested at another woman's apartment in the same Lauderdale Lakes neighborhood on Wednesday, a sheriff's spokesman said.

The white-haired suspect, Philip Winikoff, carried a black bag and claimed to be visiting on behalf of a local hospital.

"He told the woman that he was in the neighborhood offering free breast exams," sheriff's spokesman Hugh Graf said in a statement.

At least two women, both in their 30s, let him into their homes and he fondled and sexually assaulted them, the investigators said.

Winikoff was not a doctor, Graf said. He worked as a shuttle driver for an auto dealership.

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Reported Carjacking a Drug Deal

A man who reported he was carjacked cooked up his story after he later regretted selling his car to a teenager in exchange for a $150 bag of cocaine, police said.

Neal Stevenson, 21, told police Thursday evening the car was taken from him by force at the Fort Henry Mall.

But police found the 1999 Honda Accord being driven the next day and tracked it to a 16-year-old boy who told officers that Stevenson sold him the car for drugs — and produced the title signed by Stevenson.

"While at the mall he later felt like he got ripped off and came up with the story that he was a victim of a carjacking," Detective Lt. Ralph Cline said. "I would assume his high started leaving him ... he got mad and felt he got ripped off."

Stevenson was arrested on a charge of filing a false police report. The teenager, who was not identified, faces a runaway charge and new drug charges related to items found when he was questioned by police.

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Police Rescue Alleged 'Backhoe Bandit'

A man who tried to steal an ATM with a backhoe was arrested when he asked police officers who were chasing him for help after he jumped into the Kansas River, police said.

Police said the man, in his 50s, used the backhoe to break into a convenience store in Kansas City, Kan., then tried to drive away with the Automated Teller Machine. As the man tried to flee, the machine and 12 packs of soda fell from the backhoe, police said.

Police followed the man as he took the backhoe through a wooded area before fleeing on foot.

After jumping into the Kansas River, the man swam out about 15 feet from shore, then called for help, saying he was drowning, the police department said.

Two officers jumped into the river, rescued him and arrested him, police said.

The man was taken to a hospital after complaining of an ankle injury, police said. The two officers were unharmed.

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Man Accused of Changing Traffic Lights

A man who said he bought a device that let him change traffic lights from red to green has received a $50 ticket on suspicion of interfering with a traffic signal.

Jason Niccum of Longmont told the Daily Times-Call that the device, which he bought on eBay for $100, helped him cut his time driving to work.

"I guess in the two years I had it, that thing paid for itself," he told the newspaper Wednesday.

Niccum was cited March 29 after police said they found him using a strobe-like device to change traffic signals.

"I'm always running late," police quoted Niccum as saying in an incident report.

The device, called an Opticon, is similar to what firefighters use to change lights when they respond to emergencies. It emits an infrared pulse that receivers on the traffic lights pick up.

Niccum was cited after city traffic engineers who noticed repeated traffic-light disruptions on certain intersections spotted a white Ford pickup passing by whenever the light patterns were disrupted.

City traffic engineer Joe Olson said traffic engineers plan to update the city's Opticon system this year to block unauthorized light-changing signals.

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Woman Accused of Acid Attack at Wedding

An Albany woman was accused of crashing a Sudanese wedding party early Sunday and splashing people with a glass bottle full of acid, injuring six people, authorities said.

Of those injured, two firefighters were burned when their latex gloves melted as they tried to treat the others splashed with the substance.

"Acid thrown in someone's face is pretty unique," said firefighter Darren Marino. "You gotta be pretty twisted. It was pretty nasty."

Marino said the firefighters thought they were answering a call for a hot-water burn and didn't realize they were dealing with acid until they reached the hospital and their fingers started burning.

Police were investigating why the woman, who was among injured, attacked the group.

Rihab Hagelkhider, 39, allegedly targeted Hayfa Hussein, 29, who suffered burns on her face and body, police said.

Hagelkhider was charged with assault and reckless endangerment.

Police have not yet identified the acid.

The party of Sudanese immigrants and others was held at the Friendship House, which is affiliated with the Friendship Baptist Church.

Marino said there was a language barrier at first. "I jumped out of the rig and I didn't understand anything. But I understand pain."

All victims were treated at local hospitals and released.

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Mo. Couple Charged in Sextuplets Hoax

In this photo provided, Tuesday, April 11, 2006, in Grain Valley, Mo., by the Everson family, shown is Sarah Everson, apparently pregnant with sextuplets, date unknown. A couple's dramatic account of newborn sextuplets turned out Tuesday to be nothing more than an elaborate scam. The Everson's story about their six babies' births had holes in it from the very start, from their mysterious withholding of information for more than a month to the unanimous response of area hospitals that they had no such newborns. Authorities said the couple admitted Tuesday evening that the entire thing was a hoax aimed at tapping the generosity of others to pay their mounting bills.

A couple who crafted a hoax about having sextuplets, allegedly to collect thousands of dollars in generous gifts from neighbors and co-workers, are facing up to seven years in prison.

Kris and Sarah Everson were charged Friday with stealing by deceit, and a judge entered not guilty pleas. Both were released on bond.

The Grain Valley couple admitted to police and reporters earlier this week that their story was untrue. They had been telling people that Sarah Everson gave birth in March to six critically ill babies.

The story prompted their friends and co-workers to open their wallets and donate thousands of dollars in cash and gifts, according to prosecutors. Prosecutor Michael Sanders said the Eversons collected $3,500 in cash from a local charity and employees at the Grain Valley brake manufacturing plant where Kris Everson worked.

"In the Midwest, we are a very trusting and generous community," Sanders said. But "when individuals take advantage of that trusting and caring nature, we have to send a very clear message that we will not accept that in this community."

Kris Everson, 33, declined to comment outside the courthouse. His 45-year-old wife, released later in the day because she faced outstanding traffic warrants, refused to comment when reached by phone in jail.

Police Chief Aaron Ambrose said the couple took in money and other gifts through a bank account, a post office box and their own Web site. Police said Sarah Everson told them she went so far as to gain 40 pounds to further the ruse. Their tale began to unravel after their story made the front page of The Examiner in Independence.

"It snowballed and basically it was hard to stop and they didn't know how to stop it," said Terry Ford, the Grain Valley detective who got the couple to confess.

In a front-page column published Friday, The Examiner's executive editor, Dale Brendel, apologized to readers, saying the paper held the story for three weeks before eventually being convinced it was true.

"We got fooled. Plain and simple," Brendel wrote. "In a story as sensational as this, we shouldn't have published anything until we verified it with our own cameras."

Hours before admitting the hoax, Sarah Everson had allowed an Associated Press reporter into her home, showing off a nursery that she said was ready for her four boys and two girls. She said she was awaiting their release from the hospital.

She told of the surgeries two of the babies would undergo, detailed her discomfort during her pregnancy and even showed photographs of herself with a bulging belly.

Kris Everson had been telling co-workers since December that his wife was pregnant with multiple babies, said Cathi Christina, human resources manager for the brake plant. Employees at the plant gave the couple up to $2,400, according to court papers. A spokeswoman for Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems North America refused to say whether Kris Everson quit or was fired.

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Police Find Shopper in Suspended Ceiling

A woman apparently didn't want to leave a discount store on Thursday.

At about 11:30 a.m., authorities responded to a call from a Pamida store employee reporting that a woman was trying to pass a bad check, Fergus Falls Police Capt. Steve Adams said.

The 36-year-old woman was in the checkout line on Thursday when squad cars showed up. Rather than leaving the store through its front doors, she bolted for the back of the store, Adams said.

Using a police dog, police found her in the suspended ceiling around 4 p.m. The woman was taken to the Otter Tail County Detention Center.

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Bank Heist Suspects Toss Cash in Chase

Three bank robbery suspects were arrested after tossing money and a handgun out of their speeding getaway truck in a rush-hour freeway chase.

Two gunmen held Wells Fargo tellers Thursday at gunpoint while an accomplice waited outside the bank.

Police gave chase as the trio fled with an undisclosed amount of cash on Interstate 680 through neighboring cities of Milpitas and Fremont. After reversing course, they flung $1, $20 and $100 bills and a gun from the truck before surrendering.

"We don't know if they were trying to create a distraction, but our focus was to stay within their range," San Jose police spokesman Enrique Garcia said.

A section of the freeway was closed for two hours as officers stuffed cash in plastic bags.

The suspects' identities were not released.

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Couple Faces Charges in Glass-in-Food Scam

A couple has been charged with filing fraudulent insurance claims that said they had eaten glass found in their food at restaurants, hotels and grocery stores, federal prosecutors said.

Ronald and Mary Evano filed the claims in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland, an indictment made public Friday said. Mary Evano is still being sought.

The couple used aliases, false
Social Security numbers and identity cards, and in some cases, had eaten glass intentionally to support their insurance claims, prosecutors said. The glass did not come from the food they had bought, prosecutors said.

In 1997, prosecutors said, Mary Evano went to Beth
Israel hospital in Boston claiming to have eaten glass at a Boston restaurant. The couple, who were then apparently living in Weymouth, settled with the restaurant's insurer for $22,000, according to the indictment.

Between 1997 and 2005, the Evanos filed fraudulent insurance claims worth more than $200,000 and left a trail of unpaid medical bills worth more than $100,000, the indictment said.

The Evanos are charged with conspiracy and multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, identity fraud, Social Security fraud and making false statements on health care matters.

Ronald Evano is being held by police in Maryland. He is scheduled to return to Massachusetts where he will be charged in U.S district court, the U.S. attorney's office said. It could not immediately be determined if they had attorneys.

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Police return $42,000 thrown out with trash

A Japanese man wept for joy this week when he recovered 5 million yen ($42,210) in cash his wife had mistakenly thrown out with the household rubbish.

The 35-year-old man had withdrawn the money from a bank account but, fearing it would be stolen, he hid it inside a refuse bag which he placed in a rubbish bin, Japanese media said.

His wife unknowingly threw out the bag, which was found last month at a refuse collection point outside an apartment building in Saitama, north of Tokyo.

Local police returned the money after the man was able to give details of the exact amount and where he had withdrawn it.

Many Japanese keep large quantities of money hidden in their homes and cash is often used for business transactions.

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Florida Couple In Public Sex Bust

Meet Amber Mumma and Marcelo Gonzalez. The frisky Floridians were arrested yesterday after a Tampa cop spotted them having sex against a car. According to an arrest affidavit, Mumma, 19, and Gonzalez, 23, were trysting in the parking lot of Peabody's Billiards while several onlookers watched. The pair, both of whom work at a Tampa restaurant, are each facing a misdemeanor count of lewd and lascivious behavior. Additionally, Gonzalez was hit with a misdemeanor exposure of sexual organs rap while Mumma was charged with giving officers a phony name. Mumma and Gonzalez are pictured below in mug shots snapped by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. According to a police report, Officer Stephen Hiles was patrolling the parking lot when he spotted Mumma with her pants at her knees. Gonzalez was standing behind her with his penis exposed and, according to the cop, was allegedly having sex you know where.



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Woman tricks herself out of reward

When a German woman found a wallet containing 1,000 euros ($1,220) she decided it was better to get a reward from the owner than to keep the money -- even if that meant resorting to extortion, police said Friday.

"It was a bit stupid. She could just have kept the wallet," said a spokeswoman for police in the southwestern city of Darmstadt. "But she wanted the finder's reward -- and might have got one anyway. But she opted to extort it instead."

Police said the 47-year-old found the owner's phone number in the wallet and told the pensioner she could only have it back for 100 euros "plus 20 euros travel costs."

The owner agreed to the terms, and tipped off police, who arrested the woman with the wallet at the handover point.

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Teens arrested after posting alleged firebombing video on MySpace.com

Two teenage boys were arrested on charges of possessing "destructive devices" after a video allegedly showing the duo firebombing an empty airplane hangar was posted online at MySpace.com, a social networking site. Novato police said a tip led them to watch the video, which provided clues for identifying the hangar's location and the teens who were arrested Tuesday. In the clip, two boys each are seen setting off a homemade firebomb, said Novato Police Lt. Jim Laveroni.

The hangar used to be part of Hamilton Air Force Base, which closed in 1976, according to Novato Police Lt. Jim Laveroni. The building suffered damage that investigators described as "minimal."

"That was very lucky," Laveroni said. "Anytime you are using an explosive you can cause harm to yourself, harm to witnesses, harm to the person who videotaped it and harm to the structure you are throwing at or setting aflame."

Laveroni said police officers stationed at each middle and high school in Novato regularly surf the MySpace site for signs that local teenagers may be involved in criminal activity such as drug or alcohol use, sexual assault or vandalism.

The boys arrested in the firebombing were released after they were arrested and the case was referred to the Marin County District Attorney for possible prosecution, Laveroni said.

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Man in suspected stolen truck asks police for directions

Mack El

A New Jersey man trying to get to Virginia from Alabama was arrested along the way. In Indiana. In a suspected stolen vehicle. After asking a uniformed police officer for directions.

Mack El, 47, of Asbury Park, N.J., stopped Indiana State Police Trooper Tommy Walker at 9:35 p.m. Monday at a rest stop on Interstate 65 near Edinburgh.

“He waved me down carrying an Indiana map,” Walker said. “And said he wanted to get to Richmond, Virginia.”

Walker said he checked to make sure El didn’t mean Richmond, Ind.

El told Walker, who was in uniform and driving a police car, that he had left Alabama in search of Virginia, the officer said.

El also asked Walker about travel times to Richmond, Ind.; Richmond, Va.; and Indianapolis.

Walker gave the man directions to Virginia.

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How would you like to meet these guys?

A Danish security firm said Tuesday it had fired three of its guards for stealing toys and DVDs from critically ill children at Copenhagen's main hospital.

The guards were caught on video tape after managers became suspicious when toys intended for the children -- many of whom have cancer or need heart transplants -- started to disappear.

"I feel terrible, and we are deeply sorry about this," said Falck Securitas's managing director, Peter Boye Larsen.

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Exploding paperweight costs teacher his hand

A teacher who kept a 40 mm shell on his desk as a paperweight blew off part of his hand when he apparently used the object to try to squash a bug, authorities say.

The 5-inch-long shell exploded Monday while Robert Colla was teaching 20 to 25 students at an adult education class.

Part of Colla's right hand was severed and he suffered severe burns and minor shrapnel wounds to his forearms and torso, fire Capt. Tom Weinell said. No one else was injured. He was reported in stable condition at a hospital.

The teacher slammed the shell down in an attempt to kill something that was buzzing or crawling across the desk, said Fire Marshal Glen Albright.

Colla found the 40 mm round while hunting years ago and "obviously he didn't think the round was live," said Dennis Huston, who teaches computer design alongside Colla.

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Spider-hunting nudist ends with ring of fire

A red-faced Australian nudist who tried to set fire to what he thought was a deadly funnel web spider's nest ended up with badly burned buttocks, emergency officials said Monday.

The 56-year-old man was at a nudist colony near Bowral, about 60 miles southwest of Sydney, Sunday when he spotted what he believed to be a funnel web spider hole.

Ambulance workers, including a helicopter crew, were called to the scene after the man poured petrol down the hole and then lit a match in an attempt to kill the offending arachnid.

"The exploding gasoline fumes left the man with burns to 18 percent of his body, on the upper leg and buttocks," the NRMA Careflight helicopter rescue service said in a statement.

It said the man's lack of clothing probably contributed to the extent of his burns.

"The fate of the bunkered spider was unknown, although other guests at the resort thought it was probably a harmless trapdoor spider and not a deadly funnel web," the statement said.

NRMA Careflight said it was called to a property in the same area in January when another man kicked a spider that was crawling up the wall of a friend's cabin. The man broke his leg in two places, it said.

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Golfer Accused Of Attacking Man With Club

A man in Seminole County, Fla., was arrested on a golf course after witnesses said he used a golf club to attack another golfer in an apparent fit of rage, according to a Local 6 News report.

Deputies said Rodney Hearon became involved in a dispute Wednesday with a golfer at the Wekiva Springs Golf and Country Club in Longwood, Fla.

Witnesses said the Hearon and another man asked two other golfers if they could pass in front of them near the tenth hole on the course. The men declined to allow the pair to pass, citing that the golf course was full and that there was still a group in front of them, a police report said.

A verbal altercation ensued and during the exchange, witnesses said Hearon chased one of the men with a golf club and swung it about one foot from his head.

Deputies arrested Hearon and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Hearon remains behind bars in the Seminole County Jail.

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Man Punished For Role In Urine-Filled Soda Prank

A Deltona man found out Tuesday the consequences of pulling a disgusting prank.

Investigators said he encouraged a co-worker to put urine in a soda bottle, and then a convenience store customer drank it, WESH 2 News reported.

The judge handed down a judgment of probation, letters of apology and blood tests.

William Bonilla, 19, was accused of encouraging co-worker Anthony Mesa to urinate in a Mountain Dew bottle and then sell it. A customer became violently ill after drinking the urine.

The incident has not stopped people from shopping at the convenience store.

"Just because somebody did something stupid, doesn't mean everybody is the same," one customer said.

For his role in the prank, Bonilla has been sentenced to six months of probation. He must also write a 100-page letter of apology to Publix and the victim.

He also must complete 150 hours of community service and undergo HIV testing. Bonilla will also have to pay an undetermined amount of restitution.

No one answered the door at Bonilla's house.

"He's always been generous, kind, very respectful to neighbors around here," Bonilla's neighbor said.

Neighbors believe his punishment was harsh.

"The (other) kid should have had common sense enough not to do it," the neighbor said. "He's the one who should be getting the severe sentence not somebody who might have said, 'Oh, yeah, man. Go ahead and do it.'"

Mesa will face the judge on Thursday, and he is expected to enter a plea.

The victim, a 31-year-old man, did not know about the sentence until WESH 2 News informed him.

His attorney asked him not to comment.

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