Archive for January, 2007
Jan30th
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Clenzo Thompson really should get a new career. The bird-brained bandit was busted for sticking up the same Brooklyn bank twice in three days - and having a dye pack explode in his face both times, cops said.
And this is three years after he robbed another bank but dropped his state ID card while pocketing the cash, sources said.
On Jan. 12, Thompson, 45, slipped a holdup note to a teller in Commerce Bank’s Park Slope branch, on Fifth Avenue near Garfield Place, cops said. He got back $2,340 stacked to conceal the soon-to-explode dye pack.
Yet, just two days later, Thompson allegedly took a livery cab to the same bank, told the driver to wait, went in and handed a note to a different teller - who handed him $1,740 and another dye pack.
This one burst inside the cab, prompting the driver to jump out and the never-say-dye Thompson to take the wheel, speed off and abandon the car a few blocks away, authorities said.
But cops found fingerprints in the bank. This time, he was arrested on Jan. 25 at a pal’s place in Boonton, N.J.
This article was found on NYPost.com
Posted in Robbery, Stupid Criminals | No Comments »
Jan14th
Sunday, January 14th, 2007
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - An alleged burglar is under arrest after he accidentally provided police with a key clue.
CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports on the evidence that helped crack the case.
Saws, car stereos, even sets of golf clubs were all recovered from a string of burglaries in Northwest Indiana, and police think one man is responsible.
“The world’s dumbest criminal, maybe,” is how burglary victim Chris Brock described the alleged criminal.
Brock says he found a paper trail Phillip Miley allegedly left while breaking into his home, including a receipt from when he bonded out of jail on another burglary charge.
“He left his Social Security card, and a couple of check stubs,” Brock said.
Police believe the suspect hit a home in Lake County and up to four in Porter County.
Lake County Deputy Commander Shaw Spurlock invited Miley in to talk, and that’s when police say he revealed how he allegedly bagged the items.
“As far as we know, these crimes occurred on one single night. He was busy the entire night,” said Detective Jeff Biggs of the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.
“I’ve lived here for seven years and never had an incident. And then, all of a sudden in a week I’ve had three incidents,” Brock said.
He says the Dec. 28 burglary seems to have touched off more vandalism at his home.
He says he still has injuries from when someone stole his dump truck, then ran into him and just Tuesday morning, an explosion in his front yard.
Police are investigating to see whether the cases are connected.
In the meantime Brock and other victims wait to have their belongings returned to them.
This article was found on CBS2Chicago.com
Posted in Burglary, Theft, Stupid Criminals | 3 Comments »
Jan9th
Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A would-be customer, shopping on eBay for a new GPS for his car, found one that fit the bill a little too perfectly: It’s the one that was stolen from him.
Danial Rangkar, 25, of Great Neck, was awaiting arraignment Monday on a charge of criminal possession of stolen property after allegedly trying to sell not only the victim’s stolen GPS device, but dozens of other electronic items including laptop computers, digital cameras, iPods, cellphones and other hand-held communications devices.
The name of his attorney was not immediately available.
The victim, who was not identified, said his particular GPS had a unique power cord and when he found it being offered for sale on the Internet about 10 days after it was stolen, he checked the serial number and it matched the one he had owned, police said Monday.
“Unbelievable as it seems, he was in the bidding to buy his own stolen GPS,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.
The police investigation led to Rangkar, who owns a “second hand” store in the borough of Queens. A search of his home and business uncovered several dozen items that police suspect had been stolen out of automobiles in the New York metropolitan area.
Police and prosecutors were hesitant to provide details of how they determined all the devices had been stolen, but at least two of the laptops were stamped “Property of St. John’s University.” Detective Ray Cote noted that the GPS devices specifically had the addresses of the legitimate owners programmed in and police were now contacting those victims to eventually return the items.
Catherine England, a spokeswoman for the San Jose, Calif.-based eBay, said her company has a 2,000 employee “trust and safety” unit that constantly monitors the site for illegal activity. She said the unit includes a liaison with law enforcement and that anyone suspected of illegal activity immediately has their account canceled.
Early Monday morning, Rangkar was still offering a number of items for sale on the site; it was not immediately clear whether the items were suspected of being stolen. Rangkar, who worked under the name “nydannysjewelry,” was identified as a “power seller” on the eBay site and buyers as recently as Sunday were raving about him.
“Fast delivery. Excellent product. Will do business again,” read one comment.
England said it was possible police had yet to notify her company about the arrest.
This article was found on 1010Wins.com
Posted in Theft, Stupid Criminals | 2 Comments »
Jan2nd
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007
Two men wanted in connection to a botched attempt to shoot open a safe stolen from a Gulf Breeze car lot have been arrested.
Robert Salter Jr., 20, of Pensacola turned himself in to Escambia County sheriff’s deputies Thursday. Paul Dean, also 20 and from Pensacola, was picked up by Escambia deputies Thursday, as well.
Salter originally told investigators he was driving by OBO Auto Sales, 3222 Fordham Parkway in Gulf Breeze, on Jan. 6, when he saw lights inside. When he went into the office to check, a burglar shot him in the leg, he claimed.
It turns out that Salter’s injury occurred after he and Dean burglarized the business, and Dean attempted to open the safe in a wooded area by shooting it with a .45-caliber pistol, law enforcement officers said. The shot ricocheted off the safe and struck Salter in the thigh.
Both men were transferred to Santa Rosa County Jail, where they were being held on $100,000 bond each.
This article was found on PensacolaNewsJournal.comÂ
Posted in Burglary, Theft, Stupid Criminals | 3 Comments »
