Monday, April 15, 2013
ODDLY ENOUGH
Iowa sheriff drops charges over a destroyed spork
IOWA CITY, Iowa
A sheriff says a rowdy inmate caught on tape destroying a spork will not face criminal charges after all.
Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said last week that a criminal-mischief charge against Tera Harris has been dismissed, a day after her case was publicized by a newspaper.
Pulkrabek said Harris was being disruptive at the jail when she was given a food tray after normal feeding times. He says she started throwing food around her cell block and — quote — “intentionally broke a spork, which was observed and captured on video.”
He says this wasn’t your ordinary plastic spork, but a semi-indestructible one designed for institutions to be washed and reused.
Pulkrabek says Harris is being jailed on other charges, and she’ll be punished internally for the spork incident.
Thirsty burglars in Oregon left telltale juice carton
MEDFORD, Ore.
Authorities in southwest Oregon say two burglars took silver ingots, collectible coins, electronics and jewelry in a break-in last fall. They also took a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator, shared it and left the carton on the garage floor. Uh-oh.
The Jackson County sheriff’s office says the state police crime lab was able to get DNA evidence from the carton, and it matched two suspects in an FBI database.
Additional charges have been filed against a 33-year-old Central Point man who was jailed in an unrelated break-in. The sheriff’s office said last week that it’s still investigating the other suspect.
The loot from the Eagle Point burglary included $10,000 in silver and coins in a safe. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Andrea Carlson says none of it has been recovered.
Pa. juvenile escapee stole some Cheetos, police say
GROVE CITY, Pa.
A boy who briefly escaped from a western Pennsylvania juvenile detention facility apparently had the munchies.
State police in Mercer say the boy, who isn’t being named because of his age, escaped from George Junior Republic near Grove City by hiding next to a tree last Monday night.
Once he was in the clear, police say the boy walked to a nearby Walmart, where he stole a $3.49 bag worth of Cheetos about 11 p.m.
Police say staff at the juvenile reform school found the boy walking near the store’s parking lot and returned him to custody.
According to the Frito-Lay website, “Cheetos Snacks are the playfully mischievous cheesy crunch that add a little lighten-up moment to any day.”
Associated Press