Knuckleheads in the News

Oct 26, 4:38 PM (ET)

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - A man was arrested after a government agent allegedly found him in an office building restroom lying next to an inflatable, anatomically correct doll with his pants down. Craig S. McCullough, 47, was charged Wednesday with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor.

The criminal complaint against McCullough says he was discovered in the public restroom by an agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, which is one of the federal agencies that rents space in the Hach office building.

McCullough was arrested, and Cedar Rapids police took him to the Linn County jail. His arraignment was scheduled later Friday, police spokeswoman Cristy Hamblin said.

Another agency has an outstanding warrant against McCullough, but the reason for that warrant was not immediately clear, Hamblin said. He was still in jail Friday morning and it wasn't clear if he had an attorney.

McCullough's criminal record includes a 2004 conviction for burglarizing Just For Me bridal boutique. Shortly after the burglary, police officers found McCullough in a nearby alley, carrying a mannequin wearing a bridal dress.

Oct 25, 10:36 PM (ET)

ATHENS, Ala. (AP) - Two burglars probably wish that they wiped their feet. Police who responded to an alarm about 1:20 a.m. on Thursday at the Athens Beverage Company followed a trail of muddy footprints from the store to a room at the Budget Inn.

They arrested Adam Wayne Blankenship, 23, and Robert Taylor Williams, 35, after finding a pair of muddy shoes that matched the footprints and four bottles of vodka in the room.

Blankenship and Williams, who both lived at the Budget Inn, were charged with third-degree burglary. They were being held in the Limestone County Jail.

Man Claims Mis-treatment by Rescue Workers

Oct 25, 6:36 PM (ET)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A man who helped an elderly couple escape their burning home was arrested after the rescue because of a scuffle with emergency workers.

Steven Rivers saw flames coming from the house across the street early Monday and ran into the burning building, twice, to guide an elderly couple to safety.
Outside, he passed out. He thinks it might have been from smoke inhalation, the adrenaline rush and some medical conditions. But police say when rescue workers came to help, Rivers lashed out, allegedly hitting a firefighter. He's charged with assault and resisting arrest.

Rivers says he was disoriented and wasn't treated fairly.
Fire officials called the incident unfortunate, and said Rivers acted bravely by going into the burning building.

College Smokers Fight Back

Oct 25, 5:12 PM (ET)

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - Vandals suspected of stealing toilet paper and trashing men's bathrooms at Frederick Community College have given school administrators an ultimatum: lift the campus smoking ban and the vandalism will stop.

Instead, the college is offering a $500 reward to anyone who can provide information leading to arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
School spokesman Michael Pritchard says the vandals have struck at least 12 times in the past month.

The college banned smoking, except in parking lots, last spring.

Pritchard says a message left on the wall of the first bathroom vandalized indicated the attacks would continue until the school lifts the smoking ban.

The "Stupid Years"

Oct 24, 7:44 PM (ET)

OGDEN, Utah (AP) - It's not a good idea to mess with the mayor, even if he isn't very big. Mayor Matthew Godfrey and his wife were awakened early Wednesday when somebody tried to break into their house through a side and then a rear door. Godfrey jumped out of bed, checked on his children and went outside.

"He was heading across the front lawn riding a bike of ours," Godfrey said. "I ran him down and tackled him, wrestled him and put him in a headlock."
He held the man down while his wife called 911.

Curtis Poorman, 20, was arrested for investigation of burglary, robbery, public intoxication, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, possession of marijuana - "we'll stop there," police Lt. Scott Sangberg said.

The mayor is "half the burglar's size," police Chief Jon Greiner said with a trace of exaggeration.

Godfrey, a long-distance runner, stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 135 pounds. Poorman, 20, weighs 163 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame, jail records said.

The mayor, whose only injury was a cut behind one ear, has made reducing crime an issue in his re-election campaign. Asked if it was wise to take on an intruder in an early morning break-in, Godfrey said he would encourage others to let the police handle it.

"It should be left to mayors who are determined to make their streets safe and the police. Everyone else should call 911," he said.
The man Godfrey tackled is no stranger.

"He's from a family that we know and love and respect. They're good friends of ours, and they just have a wayward child," Godfrey said. "I taught this young man in church."

Greiner said Poorman was awaiting trial on charges involving two previous garage burglaries but had been allowed to remain free without bail.

Poorman couldn't be reached Wednesday at Weber County jail.

"With this case, I just heard about it," said his attorney, J.D. Poorman - a distant cousin who said he had "no clue" what happened. "It's like what I tell my son: Between 18 and 25, that's what I call the stupid years."

Woman Helps Cheerleaders Score "Road Beer"

Oct 24, 9:30 PM (ET)

By OSKAR GARCIA

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A woman let her teenage daughter lean out of a moving van to take beer from a vehicle that was driving alongside on a southeastern Nebraska highway, authorities said Wednesday.

Terry Kisling, 47, of Hickman, was driving the van of high school cheerleaders to a football game in Nebraska City earlier this month when a group of boys pulled up next to them in a sport-utility vehicle, Norris High School principal John Skretta said.
One of the girls apparently signaled to the boys and asked for a beer, and Kisling inched the van closer to the SUV, letting her daughter lean out to grab the can, he said.

"To say that we were shocked and taken aback would be an understatement," said Skretta, who said he learned of the incident last week. "It's almost unfathomable."

The vehicles didn't touch and nobody was hurt. The beer was passed around the van for several girls to drink, Skretta said.
Kisling was charged with procuring alcohol for minors, contributing to the delinquency of minors and reckless driving, said Chief Deputy Mike Holland of the Otoe County sheriff's department. Kisling is due in court Nov. 26.

A woman responding to a message left by The Associated Press at a telephone number listed for Kisling said Wednesday that the listing was wrong.

Authorities said they did not know how fast the van was traveling. Nebraska Highway 2 is a divided four-lane highway with a speed limit of 65 mph, Holland said.

Kisling, one of many parents who volunteer to drive students to school activities in district-owned vans, will not be allowed to drive students for the school again, Skretta said.

The girls were disciplined by the school and would likely not face additional charges, Skretta said. He would not say how the school punished the students.

What Not to Wear

Oct 25, 5:27 PM (ET)

ST. MICHAELS, Md. (AP) - Police said what started as prank went too far this month when a man posing as an escaped convict alarmed a motorist and caused an unnecessary police search.

According to police, a man in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit darted in front of a motorist then ran into a field. The driver called 911, and troopers and sheriff's deputies searched the area.

Police learned later that 20-year-old Christopher Pentz was playing a joke on his friends at the nearby firehouse. He was charged with disorderly conduct.

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/506/police_drug_corruption

Sex and drugs! Sex and drugs! That's our law enforcement corruption theme this week as a gaggle of hormonally-challenged Southern cops let it all hang out above and beyond the call of duty. Let's get to it:

In Lebanon, Tennessee, a state trooper fired for letting a dope-toting porn star go free in exchange for a sex act turned himself in at the Wilson County Courthouse Tuesday morning to face a series of criminal charges for his special deal. Trooper Randy Moss, 40, stopped porn actress Barbie Cummings (real name: Justis Richert) for speeding on May 7 and found illicit drugs in the car. He wrote her a speeding ticket, but Richert claimed on her blog that she negotiated the sex act to avoid drug charges. Moss resigned after Cummings went public, although it appears he was undone by his own urge to brag. Cummings did not name Moss in her original blog post, and says a day later Moss asked her permission to tell some of his co-workers about his exploit, which is how she believes the information got out. He now faces one count of tampering with evidence, four counts of official misconduct, and one count of official oppression from the May incident. It apparently wasn?t his first time. He also faces four counts stemming from a similar incident in September 2006.

In Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, an Atlantic Beach police officer was arrested last Friday for receiving a sex act from a woman in return for not arresting her on drug charges. Officer Terence Wiggins, 45, allegedly caught a woman with crack cocaine while on duty, did his thing with the woman, then gave her crack back. He was arrested after an investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division and is now charged with misconduct in office. He is now out on bond with no court date yet set.

In Aiken, South Carolina, the last remaining Aiken County narcotics officer has resigned. Investigator Brian Owens quit Wednesday after five years with the agency. He had been suspended earlier this month at the same time his four fellow narcs in the squad were fired for taking a county-owned vehicle to bars and because one of them committed a sex act with a woman in the car on the way to a motel. The entire unit is now under investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division for possible misuse of government money, misconduct in office and improper destruction of evidence. Prosecutors said as many as 275 drugs cases could be jeopardized depending on what the SLED investigation finds.