Here in Philadelphia — and in a number of cities around the country — you hear several stories a week about some small deli or convenience store being suddenly overwhelmed by crowds of students with the intention of swiping armfuls of Pepsi Max, Sun Chips, Snickers bars and whatever else can be grabbed during the brief raid. One store has apparently had enough and enacted a two-student limit to cut down on the theft. [More]
crime news
Ripping Up A Parking Ticket In Front Of Police May Get You Tased, Even If You’re Pregnant
By 6.7.12
If you’re upset with the parking ticket you’ve just received, it’s rarely a good idea to rip it up. It’s certainly a bad idea to rip that ticket up in front of the police officer who just wrote it. Ask the pregnant Chicago woman who says police used a stun gun on her after she tore up her citation. [More]
Organized Retail Crime Up 17% In Last Five Years
By 6.5.12
While retailers continue to enact ID-checking policies to make sure you don’t walk out the door with something you didn’t pay for — and to prevent people from returning too many things for refunds — a growing number of retailers say they have become victims of large quantities of product being heisted by organized crooks. [More]
UPS Drivers Are Not Supposed To Come Back To Your House To Watch You Shower
By 5.25.12
Anyone who has just missed a UPS delivery (or has had a driver leave a “we missed you” note without actually attempting a delivery) knows it’s impossible to get that driver to make a return visit. But one UPS driver in California allegedly had no problem returning to a customer’s house… with the intention of watching her shower. [More]
If Wells Fargo Accidentally Credits $69K To Your Account, You Probably Shouldn't Spend It
By 5.24.12
The other day we asked you how you’d respond to stumbling upon $1,800 in cash left behind at an ATM by another bank customer. But what if that money — or, say, 38 times that amount of money — suddenly popped up in your bank account through no fault of your own? [More]
Don't Be Attacked By Criminals Posing As Comcast Techs
By 5.24.12
What’s worse than having a bad cable company tech wrecking your house? How about three men posing as cable techs who want to break into your house to rob and assault you? [More]
Safeway Reinstates Employee Who Stopped Man From Beating Up Pregnant Girlfriend
By 5.23.12
Last week we told you about the California Safeway employee who had been suspended after intervening in a fight between a man and his pregnant girlfriend. Now there’s some good news to report, as the grocery store chain has given the employee his job back, along with pay for the weeks during which he was suspended. [More]
Slapping A Loudmouth 10-Year-Old Is Not The Best Way To Get Him To Shut Up In A Movie Theater
By 5.22.12
What happens when two bad consumers come in conflict with each other in dimly lit movie theater? One ends up with a bloody nose and lost tooth, while the other faces assault charges. [More]
Report: Judges Collect More Than $1 Million In Traffic Fines By Calling Them 'Court Costs'
By 5.18.12
Imagine you’re caught speeding — or driving recklessly, or driving without a license — and you appear in traffic court all set to pay the fine. But then the judge tells you that he’s not only knocking your offense down to a warning, but also discounting your penalty and collecting the lesser amount as “court costs.” You’d probably be very happy. Only problem is, it’s probably illegal and it keeps bad drivers on the road. [More]
Postal Worker Accused Of Stealing Meds From War Vets, Selling To Others On Her Route
By 5.18.12
We’ve heard numerous stories about carriers for the U.S. Postal Service pilfering mail intended for others. But it seems like a lot of those stolen items just end up piling up in the carriers’ homes. Here’s a story of a mail carrier in California who robbed drugs intended for Peter to get paid by Paul. [More]
Throwing Hot Coffee On The Donut Shop Worker Is Not A Reasonable Way To Resolve A Dispute
By 5.11.12
For years, we’ve advocated the use of the Executive E-mail Carpet Bomb as a way for customers to resolve disputes with companies. What he have never suggested is the Donut Shop Employee Coffee Bomb. [More]
If You're A Fugitive Sex Offender, Watching Porn At McDonald's Will Probably Put You Back In Jail
By 5.9.12
While we certainly understand the appeal of looking at the human form sans clothing, we don’t really get why anyone would feel the need to do so while chowing down on a Big Mac at a crowded McDonald’s. But then again, we’ve never been a sex offender who was already wanted for failing to register. [More]
Skipped Step Results In Mass. Police Writing 896 Illegal Speeding Tickets
By 5.8.12
It’s a pretty big case of “Ooops,” on the part of the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation, which forgot to follow its own regulations when it determined the speed limit on a new stretch of road in Salem. Now, nearly 900 speeding tickets could be reversed — if the drivers are willing to go to court. [More]
Woman Spends Night In Jail For Picking Up Prescription Refill
By 5.7.12
Police in Dallas added insult to injury when they arrested a woman in a leg brace for a shattered knee on charges of forging her painkiller prescription, even though her doctor says no one ever checked with him to see if the ‘scrip was legitimate. [More]
Ripping Up Checks Will Not Necessarily Prevent ID Theft
By 5.3.12
If you make an error while writing a check, how thoroughly are you shredding it when you toss it out? And in an era where some banks let you deposit checks just by taking a photo with your smartphone, what are you doing with those pieces of paper after the money has cleared? [More]
Three Delta Employees Charged With Smuggling At Least $600K In Drugs
By 5.3.12
Even though it could result in a life sentence and millions of dollars in fines, airline and airport staff continue to think that smuggling drugs is a good way to earn a few extra bucks on the side. [More]
Man Arrested For Passing Not-Counterfeit $50 Bill
By 5.1.12
If you’ve ever been stuck having to buy something with a $50 or $100 bill in the last decade, you have probably had to stand there while a store clerk performs the marker test to see if the note is legitimate. Unfortunately, that test doesn’t work on older bills, and that’s how a Tennessee man ended up in jail over the weekend. [More]
Georgia Woman Arrested For Removing Illegal Roadside Sign
By 4.30.12
While two cities in Florida are using robocalls to go after the people who litter their roadsides with illegal “snipe” or “bandit” signs advertising everything from home-flippers to roofers to tax assistance, their neighbors to the north arrested a woman who took the law into her own hands. [More]
