Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Dumb + Dumberer

Two People Arrested In Alabama Crab Leg Buffet Brawl

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Chequita Jenkins (l) and John Chapman were busted in the crab-driven clash

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — The claws really came out in this one.

Two people were arrested after an argument over crab legs at a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet boiled over into a full-scale rumble, police said.

“There’s a woman who’s beating a man. People are moving around, plates are shattering everywhere,” Huntsville police officer Gerald Johnson who was eating at the restaurant at the time told WHNT-TV.

He said people had been waiting for up to 20 minutes for more crab legs to be brought out at the Meteor Buffet and that all hell broke out once they arrived, with people accusing each other of cutting the line.

“Everyone was saying, ‘They cut me in line. She cut me in line. He cut me in line. I was here first,'” Johnson said.

He added that people began sparring using the buffet table tongs.

“It’s not something you typically hear, if you can imagine a fencing match,” Johnson said.

Police arrested John Chapman and Chequita Jenkins who was eating at the buffet with her kids.

“They’d been waiting there for the crab legs for a good 10, 20 minutes. When they finally came out, it’s very heated. Especially if someone is taking more than their fair share,” Johnson recounted.

Chapman is facing disorderly conduct, Jenkins is charged with third-degree assault. Both people could end up paying a few hundred dollars in fines, well above the $10.58 per plate charge at Meteor Buffet.

 

Man Charged in Phony Abduction Ploy to Avoid Super Bowl Pool Payout

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Robert Brandel is accused of trying to take a punt on paying out on a Super Bowl pool he ran

NEWFANE, New York — Talk about a fumble!

An upstate New York man landed behind bars after staging his own abduction in an elaborate scheme to avoid paying out on a Super Bowl pool, police said.

Robert Brandel, 60, of North Tonawanda, was found tied up in the back seat of his Ford F-150 on Wednesday afternoon, the New York State police said.

Brandel claimed that he had picked up two men on Monday who had been involved in a Super Bowl pool he had run but one of them pulled out a gun and stole $16,000 in cash he had won from the game.

Cops say Brandel claimed the men made him drive around western New York for two days against his will before tying him up in the back seat of his truck and leaving him a supermarket parking lot near Niagara Falls.

But upon further investigation, detectives determined that Brandel had made up the elaborate tale and had created fictitious names to fill in the boxes in the $50,000 Super Bowl pool, with the hopes of pocketing the cash.

The gambit failed and he was left far short of being able to make the payouts, so turned to fabricating the abduction tale to explain why he didn’t have the money, cops said.

 

Minnesota Samaritan Confuses MyPillow Founder Cutout for Deranged Man

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Passersby confused a cutout of the MyPillow CEO for a crazed man wandering around hugging a pillow

JORDAN, Minnesota — It’s not surprising that there are some who might think MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is bit deranged.

Officers in Minnesota were called  to check on the welfare of a man standing outside a home with no coa in the frigid cold and hugging a pillow.

But when cops arrived at the scene they discovered the man was “actually a cardboard cutout of MyPillow CEO and inventor Mike Lindell.”

“Those cardboard cutouts sure can look real from a distance and the caller certainly was not wanting to get too close thinking who is this deranged person standing outside in the cold hugging a pillow; always better to call the police,” the Jordan, Minnesota police wrote on their Facebook page.

Lindell is well known for his commercials in which he jumps out of people’s medicine  cabinets to sing the praises of his patented pillow. He is also a vocal supporter of Donald Trump who he says was “chosen by God” to be president.

Lindell, 57, spent many years struggling with cocaine and alcohol addiction and built his multi-million dollar pillow business after becoming sober in 2009. He has also created a faith-based foundation to help addicts.

Woman Named Meth Jailed For Killing Prison Inmate With Meth

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Johna Martinez-Meth lived up to her name

FAIRFIELD, California — What’s in a name?

A woman whose last name is Meth has been sentenced to two years for smuggling meth into a prison, killing an inmate who died after swallowing balloons containing the drugs, authorities said.

Johna Martinez-Meth, 46, of Clearlake, California, had been accused of sneaking the drugs to an inmate at a prison medical facility in Vacaville in May 2018, prison officials said,

The scheme was uncovered when the inmate,  Adrian Sepulveda, 46, who was serving a life sentence for murder, died, An autopsy showed he had swallowed several balloons filled with methamphetamine, officials said.

When investigators realized that Martinez-Meth was the last person to visit Sepulveda, they got a search warrant for her house where they found more meth, balloons and glue. She was arrested and later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

“[The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] is committed to stopping the flow of drugs into our prisons,” said Bryan Shill, deputy chief of CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety. “Our investigators will diligently pursue those who smuggle narcotics into any state correctional facility, and we will seek justice through aggressive prosecution of violators.”

 

Michigan Teen Late for Curfew Busted Driving 138 Miles Per Hour

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Officers took pity on the teen speeding home in a Camaro, although it’s unclear if his parents will be as forgiving

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan — At least his heart was in the right place.

A dopey Michigan teen was arrested after being caught driving 138-miles-per-hour, telling cops he was racing home because he was late for curfew.

The Michigan State Police say the 17-year-old — whose name they did not release — was zooming along I-75 outside of Detroit in an orange 2012 Chevy Camaro at 8:45 on Nov. 23 in a bid to get home to Grand Blanc before it was too late.

“The driver, 17 years old, stated that he was traveling so fast and passing other cars and ducking in and out of lanes because he was late for his 9:30 p.m. curfew,” police said.

Feeling bad for the teen, “the trooper gave the kid a break on the reckless driving charge, but he did earn a ticket for 138/70 and the SMH [smack my head] award.”

The department said the teen will receive four points on his license which will result in increased insurance rates and fines of at least $180.00. A reckless driving charge would have resulted in the teen being arrested and facing as much as 93 days in jail.

The officer opted to show the kid some leniency because he is “already in a lot of trouble with mom and dad.”

“Your troopers see all kinds of things during their shift. We give them the discretion to handle all situations. If you have to be somewhere at a certain time, leave early. Slow down and drive Michigan Safely!” the department said.

Florida Woman Pulls Knife on Man Who Complained of Her Loud Fart in Store

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Shanetta Wilson’s loud fart led to an ugly standoff

DANIA BEACH, Florida — He smelled it and she dealt it.

A Florida woman was busted for pulling a knife on a man and threatening to “gut him” after he complained about her loudly farting while on line a store.

Police in Dania Beach say Shanetta Wilson, 37, was on line at a Dollar General when she let one rip. When the man standing behind her, John Walker, complained, things got ugly.

According to the police report, Wilson allegedly pulled a small “lock back knife” from her purse, “opened the knife and told the victim she was going to ‘gut’ him.”

Cops say that while Wilson mad the threat, she pulled back her right hand with the knife as if she was going to attack the victim with it.

Walker told officers he  was “in fear that he was going to be stabbed by the defendant,” the affidavit read.

When cops arrived at the scene, they managed to track Wilson down a few blocks after Walker identified her.

Wilson was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and held on $2,500 bail.

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Faces Life For Alleged Role in Violent Street Gang

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The 22-year-old rapper has openly boasted in his songs about his gang connections

NEW YORK — Platinum-selling rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has been charged with being part of a vicious street gang that pushed drugs and shot numerous people, including an innocent bystander at the Barclays Center earlier this year.

The 22-year-old rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was one of five alleged members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, a brutal Brooklyn street gang, charged in a federal racketeering indictment. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

At 6ix9ine’s arraignment, the judge deemed him a danger to the community and a flight risk and ordered him held without bail.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman noted that there was “troubling” evidence offered by prosecutors that showed that 6ix9ine directed or participated in multiple acts of violence over the last eight months.

“The defendant is quite violent,” prosecutor Michael Longyear said.

Longyear said 6ix9ine was captured on surveillance video sitting in a car and filming his co-defendants carry out a violent robbery against a rival gang member in Times Square.

6ix9ine also was caught on video boasting about shots recently fired by a co-defendant inside the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, Longyear said.

The rapper’s lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, said his client had fired some of his co-defendants as part of his management and security team last week and was offered protection by federal agents on Saturday after some of them were overheard on wiretaps threatening his life. 6ix9ine refused the offer, Lazzaro said.

6ix9ine’s album “Day69: Graduation Day” was among the top records on iTunes following its February release. He is known for the multiplatinum hit “Fefe” with Nicki Minaj, which peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts, and “Stoopid,” featuring the incarcerated rapper Bobby Shmurda.

But 6ix9ine also has had a series of run-ins with law enforcement and has publicly identified himself as a member of the violent Bloods gang.

Prosecutors said the gang carried out acts of murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn since at least 2013.

6ix9ine recently pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Brooklyn in connection with a May traffic stop.

In a 2015 case in New York, 6ix9ine was sentenced to probation for his involvement in a sexually explicit video of a 13-year-old girl.

The video, posted on social media, showed the girl performing a sex act on another man while 6ix9ine “stands behind the child making a thrusting motion with his pelvis and smacking her on her buttocks,” according to court documents.

 

Dopey Auto Thief Being Released Tries to Steal Car Outside Jail

By HardBoiledNews Staff

AutoThief Klaid Karpuzi’s likes to steal cars but his itchy fingers know no bounds

LAND O’ LAKES, Florida (Nov. 19, 2018) — If at first you don’t succeed.

A Florida man was busted for trying to steal a car from a jail parking lot, just after he had been released on auto theft charges, police said.

Klaid Karpuzi, 41, was foiled the second time around because the car he chose to steal had an off-duty deputy sitting inside, the Pasco County Sheriff’s office said.

Karpuzi wasn’t free for long as the deputy marched him back inside the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, where he now faces a second charge of attempted auto theft, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Karpuzi was first arrested last Sunday after he stole a vehicle, cops said. He was released last Tuesday on $5,000 bail and that’s when things took a ridiculous turn.

The off-duty deputy, who was sitting inside a parked car outside the jail, saw Karpuzi walk around her vehicle and pull on the passenger-side door handle.

That’s when she got out and identified herself as a deputy and escorted Karpuzi back to jail.

Karpuzi told deputies that he saw a vehicle with the engine on and thought there was no one inside.

Karpuzi was released again Wednesday morning on another $5,000 bail, this time without incident.

Nude Man in Home Invasion Sends Fruit Basket to Apologize to Victims

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Desmond Drakes thought the fruit basket was a nice touch after wrecking his neighbor’s home

TEMPE, Arizona — What a considerate criminal.

An Arizona man who allegedly forced his way into his neighbor’s home while naked and then attacked the people living there, later sent the family a fruit basket to apologize.

Problem for Desmond Michael Drakes, 28, is that by sending the basket, he violated the restraining order the family had gotten against him after the initial assault,

Police in Tempe say Drakes broke into his neighbor’s home on Oct. 23 while naked and allegedly fought with the residents inside, KNXV-TV reported.

Drakes is accused of punching and kicking a teenager in the home and attacking an adult woman, before kicking holes through a large section of drywall.

When cops arrived, they found Drakes at his home next door where he resisted arrest until officers used a Taser to subdue him.

While in custody, Drakes was given a restraining order barring him from harassing the family next door. Drakes violated the order by sending the fruit basket, authorities said.

Drakes later told police he sent the basket as a way to apologize. He has been charged with indecent exposure and criminal trespassing. 

 

Crook Uses Hot Sauce as Weapon on Clerk in Convenience Store Hold-Up

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The thief has a thing for hot sauce and spicy foods apparently

VALLEY, Alabama (Nov. 15, 2018) — That’ll bring tears to your eyes.

An Alabama man has been charged with hurling hot sauce in a store clerk’s eyes as she opened the register, and then trying to snatch cash from the drawer.

Cops in Valley say the suspect, 42-year Michael Brisky, walked into the CV Express store and up to the register where he acted like he wanted to buy two pieces of candy.

But when the 73-year-old clerk opened the register to give Brisky his change, police say he threw a cup of liquid in her face, stinging her eyes.

Cops say Brisky then reached over the counter to grab cash out of the register but struggled with the clerk before fleeing.

When cops arrived, they found the clerk sitting on the floor in pain with orange liquid all over her face. She was treated at the scene.

After reviewing surveillance tape, cops picked Brisky up about three blocks from the scene. He has been charged with robbery and theft