True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Dumb + Dumberer

Court Rejects ‘Warrior Gene’ Defense in Santa Fe Murder

By HardBoiledNews Staff

SANTA FE, New Mexico — Presumably his “warrior gene” makes him tough enough for prison.

The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a murder conviction against a man who claimed his “warrior gene” made him predisposed to impulsive acts of violence.

Anthony Blas Yepez ad put forth the theory in a bid to get out of a 22-year sentence in the murder of his girlfriend’s 75-year-old step-grandfather, George Ortiz, in 2012. 

In a unanimous decision, justices ruled that a lower court was justified in excluding evidence about the theory which lacks any scientific basis, in the original trial in which Yepez was convicted.

Defense attorneys had argued that Yepez was incapable of forming the intent to deliberately kill because of his genetic makeup., but expert testimony on the scientific claim was excluded in the pre-trial hearing phase.

Yepez was convicted in 2015 in the killing of Ortiz during a domestic dispute. Yepez is serving a 22-year sentence for second-degree murder with additional time for auto theft and tampering with evidence.

“We hold that evidence of mere genetic susceptibility to a given mental condition is not relevant on the issue of deliberate intent, at least in the absence of evidence that such susceptibility is so well understood and has such strong predictive value as to be clinically validated as an indicator of the mental condition,” said the opinion from former Justice Judith Nakamura, who heard oral arguments in the case before her recent retirement.

The high court rejected the defendant’s request for a new trial.

An appeals court previously ruled that the lower court abused its discretion in excluding scientific testimony, but that no harm was done because Yepez was acquitted of first-degree murder charges that require the state prove premeditation.

Yepez’s girlfriend, Jeannie Sandoval, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison for her role in the killing.

Arizona Man Charged With Faking Own Abduction to Get Out of Work

By HardBoiledNews Staff

COOLIDGE, Arizona — He could have just called in sick.

An Arizona man was busted for making a false report after faking his own abduction in order to get out of having to go to work.

Police in Coolidge, Arizona say they found 19-year-old Brandon Soules on Feb. 10 with his hand tied behind his back and a bandana stuffed in his mouth lying on the ground near the town’s water tower.

Soules told them that two masked men had kidnapped him, hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious and then drove him around before dumping him where he was found.

He said the men had abducted him because his father kept a large amount of cash hidden around town.

But after conducting an extensive investigation, cops say they eventually determined that Soules had made the whole thing up. During an interview, Soules admitted he’d fabricated the story as an excuse to get out of work and he was arrested.

Soules was also fired from his job at a tire shop.

Customs Agents Nab $2.8 Million in Cocaine-Crusted Corn Flakes

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CINCINNATI — Definitely not the breakfast of champions,

Customs agents in Cincinnati made an eye-opening discovery when they found dozens of boxes of cocaine-soaked breakfast cereal.

Authorities say they were first alerted to the illicit load by “Bico,” a narcotics detector dog who flagged a large shipment of cereal headed from Peru to a home in Hong Kong. 

“When officers opened the box to take a closer look, they saw that the cereal contained white powder, and the flakes were coated with a grayish substance,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

Testing revealed that the cereal flakes had been soaked in cocaine. In all, the shipment contained about 44 pounds of cocaine coated corn flakes, which could have a street value of up to $2.8 million.

Cincinnati Port Director Richard Gillespie said that smugglers will hide narcotics in anything imaginable and that agents are prepared for anything.

New York Ice Cream Heist Leaves Thief Dangling in the Wind

By HardBoiledNews Staff

NEW YORK — This ice cream thief’s getaway was stopped cold.

Cops say a man who made off with at least eight pints of ice cream from a Manhattan store, ended up having to be rescued after getting caught clinging to the side of a building during his failed escape.

“After stealing 8 pints of Häagen-Dazs from a local business, this man’s getaway didn’t go as planned. We found him, rescued him & brought a safe conclusion to this precarious icecapade in #EastHarlem,” cops from the NYPD’s 23rd Precinct wrote on Twitter with a pic of the man dangling from a narrow ledge.

The wild chase began when police responded to a theft call from a CVS in Harlem. When officers arrived, they gave chase after a 30-year-old male who fit the description of the reported ice cream thief.

Police say that officers followed the man through the courtyard of a building where he hopped a fence that led to a long drop to an alleyway below. The man apparently tried to get down to the alleyway and got stuck on a small ledge, police said. The emergency services unit was called and the man was rescued and subsequently taken into custody.

According to cops, 10 cartons of Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream were recovered from the man’s backpack. He was identified as Anthony Pastore from Staten Island and he was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

YouTube Prank Ends With 20-Year-Old Shot Dead in Nashville

By HardBoiledNews Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A man was killed in the parking lot of a Tennessee trampoline park after trying to stage a prank robbery for a YouTube channel and the “victim” pulled a gun and shot him dead, police said.

Nashville police say Timothy Wilks, 20, and a friend armed with butcher knives, approached a group of people in the parking lot of Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park while participating in a “prank” robbery for a YouTube video. 

David Starnes, 23, then pulled a gun and shot Wilks dead. When officers arrived at the scene around five minutes later, 23-year-old David Starnes Jr. admitted to shooting Wilks.

Starnes, who told officers he was unaware of the prank, said he shot Wilks in defense of himself and others, cops said.

Metro Nashville police said its homicide unit was investigating the claim of self-defense in the shooting and no charges had yet been filed.

Motorist Revving Engine to Free Car From Snow Dies After Vehicle Catches Fire

By HardBoiledNews Staff

LITTLE FERRY, New Jersey — A man whose car got stuck in the snow in a New Jersey park died when the vehicle caught fire after he repeatedly revved the engine even as police told him a tow truck was on its way.

Police were called to Losen Slote Creek Park after a public works employee spotted the disabled car on park property, Police Chief James Walters told NorthJersey.com. 

When an officer arrived, the driver was revving the engine in an effort to rock it back and forth and out of the snow, Walters said. 

Police say the officer told the man that a tow truck was on its way and that he should take his foot off the gas, but the man ignored him and kept revving his engine. 

Soon after, the car caught fire. Officers tried to get the man out, but the doors were locked and before they could break the windows, flames and smoke had engulfed the vehicle, driving the officers back. 

The man’s identity was not immediately released.

Vegas Nail Salon Killer Sentenced to Up to 25 Years for Killing Beautician

By HardBoiledNews Staff

LAS VEGAS — A woman who fatally ran over a Las Vegas nail salon manager after trying to skip out on a $35 manicure bill has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.

Krystal Whipple, 23, had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after admitting she killed Nhu Nguyen outside Crystal Nails and Spa in Las Vegas in December 2018.

The judge sentenced Whipple to 10 to 25 years in prison for the murder.

Investigators said Whipple tried to pay her bill with a fake credit card and when it was rejected, she told Nguyen she had to go to her car to get some cash, police said.

Instead, Whipple hopped in her black Chevrolet Camaro and began speeding away. Nguyen, who had followed Whipple outside with another store employee, gave chase and jumped in front of the car. Whipple accelerated, striking the beautician, running her over and dragging her across the parking lot, police said.

Cops later said the black Chevrolet Camaro had been stolen from a rental company.

Whipple fled Nevada and headed to California and was eventually arrested a month later in Phoenix, Arizona.

Pennsylvania Squirrel Hunters Busted for Hunting While High

By HardBoiledNews Staff

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — That’s nuts.

Two men who smoked a doobie before heading out to hunt squirrels in western Pennsylvania were busted by game warden for hunting while high.

Douglas Litz, 32, and Bryan Post, 34, both of Williamsport, were arrested after a game warden stumbled upon their minivan parked on state game lands, stinking of weed and with a glass pipe in plain view on the console.

When the men returned to the car with guns in tow, the game warden asked why they too smelled of pot, Poust began to fidget and lit a tobacco cigarette, NorthCentralPA.com reported. 

“Poust stated that they did not have anything,” the warden wrote in his report..

When asked if they’d been around anyone smoking marijuana, the report said that “Litz then looked down at the ground and Poust stated that they had smoked before leaving Litz’s house.”

“Litz stated that yes, they did smoke at his house before they left to go hunting,” the report continued.

A search of the vehicle turned up a blue and white glass pipe, a baggie of marijuana, a box of wrapping papers and a baggie of blue pills believed to be DayQuil.

Each man was charged with hunting under influence of a controlled substance and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Woman Cutting Line at Utah In-N-Out Burger Leads to Boyfriend Hatchet Attack

By HardBoiledNews Staff

WEST VALLEY CITY — It was a burger to die for.

A Utah man was busted for threatening two motorists with a hatchet at the drive-thru window of an In-N-Out Burger after they honked at his girlfriend when she cut them in line, police said.

The episode unfolded on Jan. 17, when two men were sitting at an In-N-Out Burger drive-thru in West Valley City and a woman driving a BMW cut the line in front of their vehicle, cops said. They said the woman ignored them even after the honked and flashed their lights.

A short time later, a truck pulled up next to the men, and Damien Lee Hallett allegedly got out and while “aggressively holding a hatchet,” began yelling at the driver and banging on the window, the Deseret News reported.

The 38-year-old Hallett then allegedly broke the passenger window of the car with his hatchet, cutting his hand and causing it to bleed. Before leaving the area, he pointed the hatchet at the driver and said, “It’ll be your blood next,” court documents said.

The passenger filmed the incident on his cellphone and contacted police shortly after. With help from a witness who provided officers with the license plate, police said they were able to locate the truck at a nearby Costco parking lot. No one was inside the truck, but an officer “observed a bloody hatchet on the passenger seat,” cops said, in addition to “blood outside the driver’s side door.”

Hallett was wearing gloves when police met with him a few days later, the court documents state. “Hallett stated that on the night in question, his girlfriend called him to report people in the drive-thru were yelling at her,” according to police.

Hallett told police he gave his keys to a man named Bob so that Bob could escort his girlfriend home. “Hallett could not provide Bob’s last name or contact information,” the officer wrote in the charging documents.

Woman Sues Neo-Nazi Who Shot Her For Stealing His Swastika Flag

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Alexander Feaster is a fan of Hitler

ENID, Oklahoma — A woman who was shot in the back with an AR-15 by an Oklahoma Neo-Nazi after she tore down a Nazi flag flying in front of his house has filed a lawsuit accusing him of negligence, according to court documents.

Kyndal McVey, 26, was at a party across the road from Alexander Feaster’s house last June in the town of Hunter, Oklahoma, when she ran over around 3 a.m. and grabbed one of the two swastika flags he had flying outside his residence.

As she ran off with the flag, Feaster ran out of his house with an AR-15 and began firing.

Cops say the 45-year-old Feaster fired at least seven shots at McVey, striking her several times in the lower abdomen and legs. She required multiple surgeries and several weeks of hospitalization, authorities said.

In her lawsuit, McVey accuses Feaster of “reckless disregard” and asks for more than  $75,000 in damages for “mental and physical pain and suffering,” and medical expenses.

Kyndal McVey

Feaster was arrested following the shooting and charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, a felony. Investigators allege that Feaster, was lying in wait for someone from the party to try and steal his Nazi flags. The shooting was captured by Feaster’s home security system, which, cops say, recorded him running out the front door “with a large AR platform rifle on a sling and at the ready.”

During a search of Feaster’s home, cops noticed that a chair was placed at the front of the residence facing the door. A large ashtray containing several cigarette butts was nearby, as was a pair of handcuffs. “It appeared that Mr. Feaster was anticipating an incident to take place and had been watching from that spot,” a sheriff’s deputy reported.

Feaster, free on $75,000 bail, is scheduled for a March 5 preliminary hearing in the shooting case. He claims to have “acted in self-defense,” adding that he was in fear of “imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.”

In court filings, Feaster–who spent 10 years in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq–has portrayed himself as a “patriotic citizen” and “loyal American” whose political beliefs had subjected him to threats, harassment, and the frequent theft of his Nazi flags.

Feaster claims McVey is the real criminal and that he is actually a hate crime victim. The AR-15, Feaster contends, is a “precautionary weapon” that he aimed below McVey’s “center mass” so that the fusillade would not prove fatal.

Feaster’s profile page on Gab, a social network favored by the alt-right, is decorated with a Nazi flag and the German phrase “Meine Ehre Heisst Treue” (“My Honor, is Loyalty”), which was the motto of the Waffen-SS.

In a court filing, Feaster argued that there should be no negative implications from his public display of the swastika flags. While he “does not subscribe to all the tenets of National Socialism,” Feaster “believes that the United States’ economic situation, as it is now, is not dissimilar from the Weimar Republic of Germany in the early 1930’s when Adolph Hitler was elected Chancellor.”

Kansas Rehab Clinic Owner Busted For Drug Trafficking

By HardBoiledNews Staff

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — He made some poor career choices.

The owner of a Kansas drug addiction clinic has been indicted on  federal charges for allegedly trafficking in drugs.

Prosecutors say Trevor Robinson, who runs the Nuvista opioid treatment clinic in Olathe, Kansas was arrested in October after cops found a cornucopia of drugs in his Maserati following a traffic stop in Kansas City.

Robinson, 44, had been arrested on an outstanding warrant and a search of his car revealed 1.5 kilos of methamphetamine, plastic bags containing cocaine and heroin, ecstasy, marijuana  and numerous oxycodone and other prescription pills plus a digital scale and $12,548 in cash. 

He was indicted this week on charges of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and ecstasy.

Two 14-Year-Olds Charged in Murder of Texas Uber Eats Delivery Woman

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Ryan Munsie was a mother of three

HALTOM CITY, Texas — A pair of 14-year-old boys have been arrested in the stabbing death of an Uber Eats delivery woman in Texas in what cops say appears to have been a robbery gone awry.

The body of 31-year-old Ryan Munsie was discovered at a Haltom City apartment complex on Saturday by a resident, who found her lying in a breezeway with “obvious signs of trauma,” police said.

Investigators say Munise died from a fatal stab wound to the neck.

Authorities arrested two 14-year-old boys Wednesday in connection with the killing. Their names are not being released because they are juveniles. 

“Robbery appears to be the motive in the case,” police said.

Munsie leaves behind a husband, Camaron Graham, and three children, ages 5, 10 and 11. 

Graham told WFAA-TV that the couple worked hard for years to make ends meet. They began as “basically homeless” and worked to live in a hotel and then an RV and eventually a decent apartment.

“She’s just the nicest person I’ve ever met in my life. I’d give anything to give her anything she ever wanted and she’s the same way,” Graham told the outlet. “She wanted to make everyone happy, she wanted to work, and she wanted to make sure our kids had a set future.”

Munsie’s main job was as an ambulance driver for those with special needs, but she also made handcrafted tumblers. In total she worked four jobs; she’d started with Uber Eats after a COVID-19-related cut to the family’s income, her sister stated in a Facebook post.

“The most important thing about her was her work ethic and her love for her children,” Graham said, “I don’t wish that pain on anyone. My worst enemy shouldn’t feel this pain.”

Both teens face capital murder charges, police said. 

Teen Steals $1 Million From Georgia Kroger Where He Worked

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Tre Brown

GWINNETT, Georgia — He must have taken the whole “go big or go home” thing a bit too literally.

A Georgia teen has been charged with scamming nearly $1 million over a two-week period from a Kroger supermarket where he worked.

The Gwinnett County Police Department says 19-year-old Tre Brown ran the scam by creating more than 40 fake returns which he then funneled back to his credit cards. The bogus returns ranged from $75 to $87,000, cops said.

In total, Brown allegedly managed to steal over $980,000 in just two weeks. The scam came to a close when employees at Kroger’s corporate offices noticed the suspicious transactions and called police.

Investigators say that Brown used the money to buy clothes, guns, shoes, and two cars. Prior to being arrested, Brown totaled one of the vehicles. 

Cops say Brown, who has been charged with theft,  has given back a large sum of the money.

Two Upstate NY Teens Indicted for Murder of Bystander in Halloween Party Shooting

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Cheyenne Farewell

LOCKPORT, New York — A pair of teens from Upstate New York have been indicted on murder charges for firing through a garage door into a Halloween party, killing an innocent bystander and wounding five others, authorities said.

They are accused of firing eight rounds from a handgun through a metal door on the side of a garage at 43 S. Niagara St.

Cheyenne Farewell, 20, of Medina, died on her way to the hospital. Five others, ranging in age from 15 to 21, were wounded, two of them seriously.

Prosecutors say Farewell was not part of the dispute that allegedly led to the Oct. 17 shooting. “She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Niagara County District Attorney Caroline Wojtaszek said.

The defendants, ages 16 and 17, pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Farewell’s family said she was a student at the College of Brockport and was working toward becoming a therapist.

“Her life’s work wanted to be reaching out to people that needed help,” her mother, Rochelle Horner told WIVB-TV.

“The one thing that she really wanted to do when she decided to switch her major to become a therapist was to work with inner city kids,” Horner told the outlet. “It always hurt her that – and she had a lot of friends that were in this boat, of not being able to afford a therapist. They’re expensive.”

Because the alleged gunmen aren’t adults, the court hasn’t released their names. Both defendants face two counts of second-degree murder; four counts of first-degree assault; five counts of second-degree assault; and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment.

The 17-year-old also was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, while the 16-year-old faces one count of the weapons charge.

Doreen M. Hoffmann, Niagara County first assistant district attorney, said the indictment includes two theories of murder: intentional killing and killing with “depraved indifference to human life.”

Horner said her daughter would have forgiven the suspects.

“I know right now she would not only forgive them. She’d be worried about if they’re doing okay, if they’re hurting, if they went through something as children that made them turn to this kind of life.”

Her mother says she, too, forgives the suspects.

“I’m in a place where I want to forgive them. I do forgive them. I’m at peace with that,” Horner said.

In early January, cops arrested 21-year-old Jonathan Frey, a level 3 sex offender from Lockport, and charged him with hindering prosecution for allegedly driving the shooters to and from the crime scene.

Oklahoma Legislator Proposes Bill to Establish Bigfoot Hunting Season

By HardBoiledNews Staff

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — It’s Bigfoot hunting season.

An Oklahoma state legislator has filed legislation to establish an official Bigfoot hunting season as a way to draw tourists.

The bill proposes to have the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Division establish annual dates of the season and set specific hunting licenses and fees.

“Tourism is one of the biggest attractions we have in my House district,” said State Rep. Justin Humphrey, a Republican from Lane, in southeast Oklahoma. “Establishing an actual hunting season and issuing licenses for people who want to hunt Bigfoot will just draw more people to our already beautiful part of the state. It will be a great way for people to enjoy our area and to have some fun.”

Humphrey said he doesn’t want people to actually kill Bigfoot, so he will be working with the state wildlife and tourism departments to craft final language for his bill that specifies only the trapping of Bigfoot. He also hopes to secure at least $25,000 that can be used as a bounty for the first person to trap the creature.

“A lot of people don’t believe in Bigfoot, but a lot of people do,” Humphrey said. “Just like some people like to go deer hunting, while some don’t.”

Humphrey said the town of Honobia, Oklahoma, already has an annual Bigfoot festival each October, so the hunting season ideally would coincide with that.

“Having a license and a tag would give people a way to prove they participated in the hunt,” Humphrey said. “Again, the overall goal is to get people to our area to enjoy the natural beauty and to have a great time, and if they find Bigfoot while they’re at it, well hey, that’s just an even bigger prize.”

Man Posing as Cop Busted for Stealing Donut from Utah 7-Eleven

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Daniel Mark Wright and Christian Olson are allegedly part of a criminal syndicate

LEHI, Utah — He was really getting into the part.

A Utah man wanted for a string of crimes was arrested after stealing a donut from a 7-Eleven while dressed as a cop, police said.

Officers in Lehi ended up tracking down Daniel Mark Wright, 47, after getting a call  from a convenience store clerk who said a man wearing a “sheriff’s deputy” jacket had stolen a donut earlier in the day and left in a white Ford truck.

After looking at surveillance video, the cops tracked the truck down at a nearby motel, where the manager led them to Wright’s room.

“Officers knocked on the door and made contact with [Wright] as he opened the door and was asked to step outside. A female was also inside of the bedroom and was identified as Christian Olson. While the door was open, I observed the green Salt Lake County Sheriff’s jacket hanging in the entry-way closet,” a Lehi Police officer wrote in the arrest report, according to KUTV-TV.

Wright admitted he had been at the 7-Eleven, but refused to answer any questions about the truck, which officers determined was stolen. Police arrested Wright for impersonating an officer, receiving a stolen vehicle, and theft. Olson was arrested for receiving a stolen vehicle.

The pair claimed they had received the car from Adalberto Ozeta who was arrested over the weekend after a 60-mile pursuit across several counties in Utah.

Investigators allege the trio is involved in “extensive criminal activity,” including vehicle burglary, and vehicle theft. The arrest report also states Wright, Olson, and Ozeta are under investigation in a federal racketeering probe.

Ozeta was wanted for killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run in early January. He was busted after leading cops on a high-speed pursuit and then trying to hide in a pile of manure after his car got stuck. 

After being taken into custody, Ozeta claimed he had swallowed a bag of heroin so he was taken to a local hospital where he managed to slip his cuffs and briefly escape. He was picked up a short time afterwards.

BUM-bling Burglars Busted After Butt-Dialing Police Mid-Robbery

By HardBoiledNews Staff

STOKE-ON-TRENT, United Kingdom — This gives whole new meaning to the phrase BUM-bling burglars.

A pair of extremely unlucky thieves had the bad fortune of accidentally butt-dialing police right as they were in the middle of burglarizing a home in England.

An operator reported the call to police and stayed on the line while authorities rushed to the scene.

“Whilst committing a burglary one of the bungling burglars has accidentally sat on his phone & dialled 999,” Staffordshire Police Chief Inspector John Owen posted on Twitter. “We received a call detailing all of their antics up to the point of hearing our patrols arrive to arrest them.”  

Owen then mocked the pair with a GIF from the film “Home Alone,” which showed one of the film’s hapless burglars sticking his head through a doggy door.

Police arrested two men, aged 49 and 42, in connection with the incident.

Treasure Hunter Pleads Guilty to Digging in Yellowstone Cemetery

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CASPER, Wyoming — A fanciful fortune hunter has pleaded guilty after being caught digging in a cemetery in Yellowstone National Park in search of a fabled hidden treasure.

Rodrick Dow Craythorn, 52, of Syracuse, Utah, was searching for a treasure chest containing coins, gold and other valuables left somewhere in the Rocky Mountains a decade ago by Santa Fe, New Mexico, art and antiquities dealer Forrest Fenn, who published a book with a poem containing clues to where the treasure could be found.

The Fenn legend  has led dozens to search for the treasure — estimated to be worth as much as $1 million — but has resulted in several rescues of people who got stuck in dangerous situations. Six deaths have been attributed to the hunt. 

“The hunt for the Forrest Fenn treasure was often viewed as a harmless diversion, but in this case it led to substantial damage to important public resources,” Wyoming U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen said Tuesday.

Craythorn admitted digging within the Fort Yellowstone Cemetery in Yellowstone National Park on two separate occasions in Oct. 2019 and May 2020. Prosecutors say he caused more tham $1,000 in damage.

He pleaded guilty in federal court in Casper, Wyoming to illegally excavating or trafficking in archaeological resources and to damaging federal property. He faces up to 12 years in prison 

Fenn died at age 90 in September, three months after announcing the treasure had been found. A grandson of Fenn confirmed in December the finder was Jonathan “Jack” Stuef, 32, a medical student from Michigan.

Fenn said before his death the treasure was in Wyoming but neither Stuef nor Fenn’s relatives have said where exactly

Fenn for years hinted the treasure was north of Santa Fe in the Rocky Mountains of either New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming or Montana. 

Conspiracy Theorists Mistake Guitar Pedal Design for Proof of ‘5G Covid-19 Microchip’

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The only thing getting injected into anyone’s veins here is the ability to shred!

Guitarists have been getting an amped-up laugh after spotting a diagram being passed around online that purports to be for a microchip being secretly injected into people with the Covid-19 vaccine that is actually the schematic for the Boss Metal Zone guitar pedal.

A staple of hair metal bands since the early 1990s, its ability to make guitars scream has caught the attention of conspiracy theorists in Italy who claim its for a 5G chip secretly being implanted into people to track their motions, Guitar World magazine reported.

“It features a section labelled “5G frequency” – clearly the source of many a theorist’s eureka moment – as well as terms guitarists will find familiar: “MT-2 Gain”, “Footswitch” among the most recognizable,” the magazine reported.

Mario Fusco, an engineer at Redhat Inc. who spotted the dubious design, quipped: “In reality it is the electric circuit of a guitar pedal and I believe that putting it in the covid vaccine has been an excellent idea.”

Others online similarly riffed on the joke.

“Excellent. Reassured to know that 5G relies on op-amps and some 1n4148 diodes. Proper old school. None of that digital and microprocessor nonsense. I’ll take one in each arm,” posted one user.

Another replied, “This is a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, and trust me, that ain’t curing anybody of anything, except maybe good tone.”

Canada Cabbie Drives Maskless Passenger Straight to Jail

By HardBoiledNews Staff

VICTORIA, Canada — He breathed on the wrong cabbie. 

A taxi driver whose drunken New Year’s Day passenger refused to wear a mask, drove straight to a police station where the man was arrested and hit with a whopping fine.

Police in Victoria, British Columbia say the driver called 911 just after 1 a.m. to report that his passenger was refusing to wear a mask and was touching the driver’s face and “belligerently” refusing requests to adhere to Covid-19 guidelinest, police said.

When the cabbie pulled into the Victoria Police Department’s headquarters, officers were waiting. The passenger then refused to leave the vehicle and was removed by force and taken into custody, according to the Powell River Peak.

The man was fined $690 in total for failing to wear a facial covering, abusive or belligerent behaviour, and failing to comply with the direction of an officer. He was also ticketed for being intoxicated in a public place and was jailed until he sobered up.

Florida Man Says He Blew Up Truck to Give Cops Something to Do

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CRESTVIEW, Florida — The cops were so thankful, they took him straight to jail.

A Florida man was busted after setting his truck ablaze and blowing it up then telling cops he did it because he wanted to give them something to do.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s office said deputies responding to reports of a loud boom near Crestview, Florida on Dec. 18 found a Chevy Silverado truck fully engulfed in flames.

While speaking to the vehicle’s owner, 28-year old Kevin Robert Murphy, at the scene, he told deputies he had poured gasoline onto and into the truck, then set it on fire. He added he set the blaze “to give us something to do” and to give himself an extra Christmas present, cops said.

Kevin Robert Murphy

After being arrested for arson, officers, not surprisingly, found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in Murphy’s pockets.

No one was injured by the fire, but a nearby car and building suffered minor damage. The Dorcas Fire Department arrived quickly and put out the blaze.

Murphy is charged with arson, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dine and Dash Ends in Fatal Shooting at Colorado Restaurant

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jacqueline De Paz faces second-degree murder charges

AURORA, Colorado —  A 28-year-old woman shot and killed a man who stepped in to intervene  after she tried to dine and dash at a Colorado restaurant, authorities said.

Jacqueline De Paz has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of 18-year-old Rudy Arguello-Rios outside the Mariscos El Rey 2 restaurant in Aurora on Dec. 22, the Sentinel reported.

Police said De Paz and her party had berated a waitress and refused to pay for their meals, claiming an open door at the restaurant left their food too cold to eat.

The group, which included children, left the restaurant without paying. They were followed by the waitress and several other diners who had witnessed the argument, including Arguello-Rios, cops said.

Rudy Arguello-Rios died while trying to break up the fight

A wild brawl then broke out in the parking, during which De Paz allegedly pointed a gun at Arguello-Rios as he bent down to help a person injured in the fray, police said.

“Back the f–k up … I got the strap now,” the unhinged woman yelled.

As Arguello-Rios tried to wrestle the gun away from her, she shot him, according to an arrest affidavit.

The waitress described the young hero as “a peacekeeper who was yelling at the others to stop being rude and to be respectful.”

Officers arrested De Paz two days later during a traffic stop. She was being held at the Arapahoe County jail on $1 million bond.

A GoFundMe page set up by Arguello-Rios’ brother to help pay for his funeral described him as “a young and loved soul.”

“He passed away too young and now he’s looking after all of us.”

Bold Car Theft Leads to Wild Chase, Gun Battle, Social Distancing Violation

By HardBoiledNews Staff

EUGENE, Oregon — What began as a brazen car theft, turned into a wild car chase, demolition derby and gun battle before the suspect was finally caught because he wasn’t wearing a mask.

Oregon police say Trevor James Hudson, 32, triggered off the out-of-control escapade when he snatched a Nissan X-terra from in front of a business in Eugene.

The car’s owner then gave chase in another car, eventually cornering Hudson on a dead-end street. That led the victim to slam his car into the one Hudson was driving in order to pin him in and prevent him from leaving, cops said.

The stolen car’s owner then hopped out and tried to confront Hudson, who pulled a gun. The victim then pulled out a gun of his own and fired at Hudson, who then sped off, cops said.

Hudson eventually abandoned the vehicle by a Hampton Inn and ran inside. But since he was not wearing a mask, hotel employees demanded he leave. When they realized he was acting suspiciously, they called the police.

Officers with the Eugene Police Department and the Oregon State Police eventually caught up with Hudson near an Umpqua Bank and arrested him for robbery and unlawful use of a weapon. 

Ky. Gas Station Employee Hit With Terror Charges Over Bomb Threat Prank

By HardBoiledNews Staff

DRAFFENVILLE, Kentucky — It was a bad call.

A woman who decided to play a prank on a coworker by sending her messages threatening to blow up the Kentucky gas station where they worked has been hit with terrorism charges.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s office says they received a report of a bomb threat at the FiveStar gas station in Draffenville, after an employee began getting threatening messages from an unknown number. 

The messages threatened to blow up the business. That triggered a call to the  Kentucky State Police bomb squad, which shut the business down.

No explosive device was found, but Sheriff Eddie McGuire said they took the threat seriously, especially in light of  the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, about 125 miles away.

“You always worry about copycats anytime something like that gets media attention,” McGuire told WPSD-TV. “You always worry about  distressed individuals that want some type of attention for some type of cause.” 

Investigators soon linked the threatening messages to 21-year-old Amber Carr, of Paducah, who works at the gas station. She said she meant the messages as a prank, but was charged with making a terroristic threat, disorderly conduct, harassing communications and wanton endangerment.

Hungry Thieves Make Off With Brooklyn Restaurant’s Pasta

By HardBoiledNews Staff

NEW YORK —  Pasta la vista, baby.

A bolognese-loving burglar broke into a Brooklyn restaurant and made off with all its homemade pasta while leaving behind its pricey booze and kitchen equipment.

Workers at Borsalia — a recently opened eatery in Williamsburg — say the thief got inside the night of Christmas Eve by breaking the lock on a hatch on the sidewalk and then drilling a hole into the wall that separated the entrance from the kitchen.

Once inside, the thieves cleared out all 15 pounds of the restaurant’s pasta, which had been made the day before by the kitchen staff. The purloined pasta included ravioli, cappelletti, tagliatelle and gnocchi.

The haul was so unusual, that staffers didn’t even notice the pasta was gone until the cops arrived and were taking a close look around.

“We went downstairs and found this big hole in the wall…but everything in the restaurant was perfect,” Manager Cristiano Rossi told Patch. “When the police came we went into the kitchen and we opened the pasta storage — it was empty.”

He said that aside from the carbo-haul, the only other thing missing was about $40 from a tip jar

Rossi said cops fingerprinted the kitchen and collected camera footage from nearby businesses, but have not had any updates in the case since. He said Borsalia had not yet set up its own camera system since it opened only a month ago.

The heist left Borsalia’s kitchen crew working all day and night on Christmas to replace the pasta supply.

Rossi said the only reason he could imagine why someone would go to the trouble is because their pasta is so good.

“Our pasta is in high demand and is of the highest value,” he said.