Post by Tim Wescott on May 1, 2004 10:47:51 GMT -5
CITIZEN ACTION II: Anthony Gene Moore, 37, of Kinston, N.C., was watching
a NASCAR race on TV, but says he couldn't hear his TV due to a nearby
low-flying crop duster. Rather than turn up the volume, Moore went
outside with his shotgun and shot at the plane, hitting it three times
and forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. The downed pilot
directed sheriff's deputies to Moore's house, where they found him
drunk. Moore, who pleaded guilty to shooting at an occupied vehicle
instead of facing trial on an attempted murder charge, was sentenced to
six months in jail, and must abstain from alcohol for three years.
(Kinston Free Press) ...But notice they didn't say anything about his
shotgun.
THIS IS WAR: A remote-controlled advertising blimp touting a Ford/Toyota
dealership in Salisbury, N.C., was flying over a vacant lot when a man
in a black Chevrolet pickup drove up, got out, and shot at it with a
shotgun, causing $10,000 in damage. A witness wrote down the truck's
license number; police say it's registered to a nearby Chevrolet
dealer. (Salisbury Post) ...Meanwhile, the local Dodge dealer says
sales are "shooting up".
WHAT GOES AROUND: Harvard University Professor Weldong Xu, 38, a former
researcher at the prestigious Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told
colleagues, students and friends that he had started a research company
in China to cure Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. He managed
to collect $600,000 in "investments" from 35 people before police in
Boston, Mass., caught up with him -- while he was pressing a victim for
more money in the Dana-Farber cafeteria. The SARS research company was
a scam. So what was he doing with the money? He told police he had a
"business investment" with "partners" in N&ger&a he met by e-mail, and
was to collect $50 million from a horde of cash -- a classic Internet
fraud. "I tried to tell him he'd been scammed, but he never caught on,"
said Detective Steve Blair. (Boston Globe, Boston Herald) ...Proving
you don't have to be stupid to be an idiot.
COMES AROUND: Shannon Kramer, 35, says he was pulling a prank on his
girlfriend in Riverside, Fla., after a fight. He had lit the fuse on a
6-inch rocket and intended to fire it out the window of his car, but
the fuse burned faster than he expected and it ignited and flew around
inside the car, bouncing around and then landing between his legs,
where it exploded. "I thought I was dead," Kramer said later from his
hospital bed. "I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. I went to stand up and
I couldn't walk." Police sent the case to the State Attorney's Office,
but prosecutors there decided not to press any charges. (Jacksonville
Times-Union) ...Because they knew they couldn't describe the scene to
the judge without laughing.
a NASCAR race on TV, but says he couldn't hear his TV due to a nearby
low-flying crop duster. Rather than turn up the volume, Moore went
outside with his shotgun and shot at the plane, hitting it three times
and forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. The downed pilot
directed sheriff's deputies to Moore's house, where they found him
drunk. Moore, who pleaded guilty to shooting at an occupied vehicle
instead of facing trial on an attempted murder charge, was sentenced to
six months in jail, and must abstain from alcohol for three years.
(Kinston Free Press) ...But notice they didn't say anything about his
shotgun.
THIS IS WAR: A remote-controlled advertising blimp touting a Ford/Toyota
dealership in Salisbury, N.C., was flying over a vacant lot when a man
in a black Chevrolet pickup drove up, got out, and shot at it with a
shotgun, causing $10,000 in damage. A witness wrote down the truck's
license number; police say it's registered to a nearby Chevrolet
dealer. (Salisbury Post) ...Meanwhile, the local Dodge dealer says
sales are "shooting up".
WHAT GOES AROUND: Harvard University Professor Weldong Xu, 38, a former
researcher at the prestigious Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told
colleagues, students and friends that he had started a research company
in China to cure Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. He managed
to collect $600,000 in "investments" from 35 people before police in
Boston, Mass., caught up with him -- while he was pressing a victim for
more money in the Dana-Farber cafeteria. The SARS research company was
a scam. So what was he doing with the money? He told police he had a
"business investment" with "partners" in N&ger&a he met by e-mail, and
was to collect $50 million from a horde of cash -- a classic Internet
fraud. "I tried to tell him he'd been scammed, but he never caught on,"
said Detective Steve Blair. (Boston Globe, Boston Herald) ...Proving
you don't have to be stupid to be an idiot.
COMES AROUND: Shannon Kramer, 35, says he was pulling a prank on his
girlfriend in Riverside, Fla., after a fight. He had lit the fuse on a
6-inch rocket and intended to fire it out the window of his car, but
the fuse burned faster than he expected and it ignited and flew around
inside the car, bouncing around and then landing between his legs,
where it exploded. "I thought I was dead," Kramer said later from his
hospital bed. "I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. I went to stand up and
I couldn't walk." Police sent the case to the State Attorney's Office,
but prosecutors there decided not to press any charges. (Jacksonville
Times-Union) ...Because they knew they couldn't describe the scene to
the judge without laughing.
