oddly enough

oddly enough

Ky. judge not fooled twice

FRANKFORT, Ky.

A Kentucky judge might have been fooled once, but not twice.

The State Journal in Frankfort reports Franklin District Judge Kathy Mangeot originally fined Gary Thompson $100 and waived court costs when he was arraigned last week in a trespassing case. She said in a later hearing that he used a fake voice designed to gain sympathy.

After the arraignment, Mangeot says she searched Thompson’s name on the Internet and found news coverage in which he told Lexington TV stations last year that he faked having a disability while panhandling.

Mangeot ordered him hauled back into court and told him several times not to speak during the proceeding. She called him a “con artist,” told him to pay court costs and increased his fine.

“I also understand based on the interviews that I watched you speak in, that when you wish to speak in a clear, understandable voice, you do so,” Mangeot said. “The voice you used with me this morning was a voice that I feel certain you were trying to garner sympathy from this court by indicating that you maybe had a mental condition that did not permit you to speak clearly.”

She also warned that he would be held in contempt of court if he trespassed on the property in question again and jailed.

Woman says she woke, found intruder asleep in home

MOUNT DORA, Fla.

A Florida woman says she awoke to find an intruder asleep on her couch.

Police say they arrested the man last week at a home in Mount Dora and charged him in connection with recent business burglaries.

Orlando station WFTV reports the woman heard snoring coming from her living room while she made her coffee.

She said she then found the man asleep on her couch, covered with a blanket, and that he had helped himself to a beer from her refrigerator before falling sleep.

When police arrived, they say they woke him up by removing the blanket and found him holding a butcher knife taken from the kitchen. Police say evidence found on the man linked him to recent burglaries and a car break-in.

Bag of pot found in pants donated to Pa. charity

SUGARCREEK, Pa.

An act of charity may end badly for one donor to a Pennsylvania Salvation Army outlet.

Sugarcreek Borough police say they were called when workers found a large plastic bag of marijuana among some donated clothes.

Police Chief Matt Carlson tells the (Oil City) Derrick he suspects the owner of the drugs has noticed them missing by now, if only because the bag contained a “substantial quantity” of pot.

Police were working with store employees to determine who donated the clothes and when. Police say the drugs were found last week.

Associated Press