Oddly enough

Oddly enough

Congressman tells daughter: Remove congressional car tag

WASHINGTON

No, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings isn’t moonlighting as a ride-sharing driver.

The congressman said Tuesday that a daughter who recently graduated from college has been using his Honda with a congressional plate while working part time for a ride-sharing company to make extra money for school expenses.

The company, Lyft, gave her a sticker to put on the windshield. A photo of the car was submitted to the local blog Popville showing the sticker and the license plate, which carries parking privileges.

Cummings says he contacted his daughter, Adia, and she removed the tags. The congressman says he’s told her she can continue to use his car without the tag while she pursues full-time employment.

Cummings apologized in a statement for not removing the license plate before loaning the vehicle.

1-year probation for man who threw alligator into restaurant

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.

A Florida man who threw an alligator through a drive-thru window was sentenced to a year’s probation after throwing himself on the mercy of the court.

Twenty-four-year-old Joshua James told the judge Tuesday that he’s sorry he threw the alligator through the window at a Wendy’s last October. He said he found the nearly four-foot gator by the side of the road and meant to play a prank on a friend at the restaurant.

James was initially charged with felonies including assault with a deadly weapon. But no one was hurt by the gator, which was captured and returned to the wild.

The Palm Beach Post reports that James entered an open plea on two misdemeanors.

Bank robber who used sex toy as fake bomb is sent to prison

PITTSBURGH

A Pittsburgh man who robbed a bank with a fake bomb made out of phone wires, duct tape and a sex toy has been sentenced to 11/2 to 3 years in prison.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports an Allegheny County judge sentenced 36-year-old Aaron Stein on Tuesday after rejecting requests for leniency, including house arrest.

The judge says he couldn’t tell the community Stein’s case warranted only house arrest. He says, “It can’t be that simple.”

Stein pleaded guilty in March. He says he robbed the PNC Bank in Crafton last June because he was desperate after losing $9,000 he’d invested to cover his approaching honeymoon.

His attorney says desperation drove him to don an Iron Man mask and used the fake bomb to threaten tellers.

Associated Press