ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Mother’s love behind abduction of baby baboon in Macedonia

SKOPJE, Macedonia

The mystery of a baby baboon abducted from Skopje’s zoo had a bittersweet resolution: A mother says she stole it as a gift for her deaf son.

The 26-year-old woman told Dnevnik newspaper took that she lifted Luka, an 18-month-old crowd favorite, as a belated birthday present for her 7-year-old son. The woman said frequent visits to the zoo in Macedonia’s capital had left her boy “in love with the monkey.” She was not identified in line with Macedonian regulations concerning suspects.

Police said Luka was taken recently by two people who cut nets at his enclosure. He was rescued about four hours later. Two people were charged with burglary-related offenses.

Abandoned by his mother after birth, Luka has become a favorite of zoo visitors.

East Texas man guilty of assault gets life – in matrimony

TYLER, Texas

An East Texas man who pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend has been sentenced to life – in matrimony.

Josten Bundy, 21, pleaded guilty July 2 to assault with bodily injury for a February fistfight with the ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth Jaynes, 19, KLTV reported. Bundy told the Tyler television station that the ex was “saying disrespectful things” about Jaynes and admitted he punched the ex in the jaw.

At the sentencing hearing, Smith County Court-at-Law Judge Randall Rogers asked Bundy whether Jaynes was “worth it” and whether the couple were married, according to transcripts obtained by KLTV.

Then, the judge said, “You know, as a part of my probation, you’re going to have to marry her ... within 30 days.” Otherwise, he would send Bundy to jail for 15 days.

“He offered me 15 days in jail, and that would have been fine. And I asked if I could call my job [to inform his employer of his pending absence]. The judge told me, ‘Nope. That’s not how this works,’” Bundy said.

Jaynes, who was in the courtroom, said she was embarrassed by the judge’s proposal. Fearful of losing his job, Bundy applied for the marriage license and scheduled a date with a justice of the peace.

Bundy said he and Jaynes had talked of getting married. But with just 18 days to plan, some family members were unable to attend.

The father of the bride was irate. “I contacted a couple of lawyers, but they told me someone was trying to pull my leg ... that judges don’t court-order somebody to get married,” said Kenneth Jaynes.

Calls by The Associated Press to the court went unanswered, and calls to his home phone were met with recordings that he was not available.

Associated Press