Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Calif. Woman Charged With Impersonating Cop, Groping Woman Outside Bar

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Denise Latta allegedly has a thing for posing as a cop in order to grope women

TUSTIN, California — A depraved fraudster posed as a cop to force a female patron out of a southern California watering hole where she allegedly groped and robbed her, authorities said.

Denise Latta, 54, of Huntington Beach, went into a bar in Tustin on Sept. 13, and whipped out a badge as she approached the bartender and female patron, police said.

Investigators say Latta instructed the woman to produce an identification card, which the phony cop then cut several pieces. Latta then demanded the victim leave the bar with her.

Once outside, Latta forced the victim to put her hands on a wall and spread her feet, and while searching her, touched her breast and groin through her clothes, police said. Latta then told the victim that she wasn’t going to arrest her and told her to leave and never come back to the bar.

In late November, Tustin police tracked Latta down and charged her with kidnapping, robbery, false imprisonment, sexual battery, and impersonating a police officer. She is being held on $100,000 bond.

When Latta was arrested, officers found fake badges, identification cards that read “agent,” and clothing that read “fugitive recovery agent,” among her belongings.

Latta told detectives that she worked as a private detective and bail enforcement officer, but lacked any identification to prove it. Latta was also in possession of several items that led detectives to believe this may not be an isolated incident and cops are looking for additional victims.

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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.

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Nude Thief Busted in a String of In-The-Buff Burglaries in Arizona

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jeremy Lawrence’s habit of committing burglaries while nude made it easy for cops to identify him from his tattoos

FLORENCE, Arizona — A naked man caught on video stealing from neighbors’ homes has been arrested and charged in at least five burglaries, authorities said.

Jeremy Lawrence, 47, of Florence, Arizona, was busted last week after several victims provided surveillance video from their homes to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the bizarre series of in-the-buff break-ins.

Investigators were first tipped off to Lawrence after getting a call on Nov. 11 from a man who noticed an exotic tree was missing from his property. He said he suspected Lawrence was the thief and that he may have also been responsible for stealing items from another neighbor’s home the night before, deputies said.

Lawrence also was spotted on a surveillance camera on Nov. 10 while wearing a camouflage hunting suit. Deputies said he stole 25 air conditioner evaporator coils and a radiator belonging to a vintage truck.

After noticing similarities in the cases, deputies linked Lawrence to an incident from August when a suspect — who was nude, except for shoes and gloves — stole plants from a home in Florence. Deputies say the thief sported a distinguishing tattoo on his right shoulder, which later helped investigators connect Lawrence to two more burglaries in 2016.

Deputies said the suspect in those incidents was caught on surveillance cameras without a shirt, allowing investigators to recognize the identifiable tattoo, deputies said.

A search of Lawrence’s home on Friday resulted in the recovery of most of the stolen property from two of the burglaries. Cops say they also found a marijuana grow operation with more than 26 plants on Lawrence’s property.

Lawrence is facing multiple counts of burglary, as well as possession of marijuana, possession for sale and other charges. Deputies said they expect more charges to be filed against Lawrence as they continue to investigate.

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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.

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Nude Break-In Artist Eats Noodles, Plays Bongos in Florida Eatery

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The nude man just wanted a place to hang out

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — If Florida is a magnet for crazy, this place must be the epicenter.

Florida cops investigating a break-in at a St.Petersburg eatery were surprised to discover a second, nude burglary episode at the same place as they looked further back at the surveillance tape.

While the initial thief just helped himself to a plate of chicken wings and a beer, the second break-in artist stripped nude, ate a bowl of ramen noodles he had brought and then beat on a bongo drum.

Police say a closer review of surveillance video showed a man ride his bike up to The Chattaway restaurant last week, slip through the back gate and go through a storage shed.

The man then gets into a restaurant bathroom and exits stark naked.

He then sat naked at a picnic tables and began chowing down on a meal of Maruchan Instant Lunch ramen. The video also shows him playing the bongos, while still naked.

“He came in with pants on but he rode off on the bike without pants,” Chattaway server Chad Pearson told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m not sure if he took his pants with him but we didn’t find them. We still don’t know where his pants are.”

The intruder also spray-painted a few chairs, the bongos and a pickle jar, but no one noticed until they checked the tape.

“We would not have known about the naked guy without the cop finding that video,” said manager Amanda Kitto.

Police identified the man, who is homeless, but did not release his name publicly. Kitto declined to give his name and said the restaurant will not press charges because he caused no harm.

“His goal was to not break in, his goal was to just hang out at The Chattaway.”

Police still haven’t caught the other suspect who made off with about $500 worth of stuff.

Kitto said that even though the two incidents happened back-to-back, she does not believe they are connected.

“I used to always joke and say that if you were going to break into The Chattaway to make sure to grab a beer. And it finally happened.”

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11-Year-Old Thwarts Abduction by Demanding Kidnapper Provide Code Word

By HardBoiledNews Staff

A creep trying to lure girls into his car was outsmarted by a well-prepared 11-year-old who asked for the code word

SAN TAN VALLEY, Arizona — A well-prepared pre-teen thwarted a kidnapping when she demanded a creep trying to get her into his car provide a code word.

The man was unable to answer and sped off, police say.

Police in Pinal County, Arizona say the 11-year-old girl was walking with a friend near a park last Wednesday, when a man in white SUV drove up and said their brothers had been in a serious accident and they needed to go with him.

But the girl’s parents had taught her to ask for a code word if ever in such a situation, and — thankfully — her training kicked in. When the man was unable to come up with the answer, he drove off, cops said.

“We came up with a code word, and this one time, it saved my daughter’s life,” the girl’s mother, Brenda James, told KSAZ-TV. “I never thought it would be used, but I’m proud of her for remembering that and knowing to use that.”

Police say that other children in the neighborhood had seen the man lurking around, circling the park in his SUV several times. Investigators say the man covered most of his face with his hand while talking to the girl to conceal any identifying features.

He is described as a white male, possibly in his 40s, with a short beard and the SUV was described as possibly being a Ford Explorer.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said the girl’s training definitely save the day and that all parents should consider preparing their kids for such a situation.

“Kudos to the parents of this child for having a code word and talking about to their children about stranger danger,” he said. “We hope by putting this out, it will encourage parents to have that conversation and create a plan with their children, so they know what to do if they are in that situation.”

 

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NYC Dominatrix Bound, Beaten and Robbed of $4K in Sex Toys

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The thieves made off with the madam’s magic bag of sex toys

NEW YORK — That’s a lot of whips.

A crew of masked robbers bound and beat a dominatrix in a New York hotel room before making off with her cash and bag stuffed full of sex toys.

“They stole $4,000 worth of toys from me — the whole bag, all of the strap-on dildos, nipple clamps and leather harnesses,” 27-year-old madam, Barbara Schreiner, told the New York Post. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

Cops say Schreiner was waiting for a $2,500-an-hour customer at a Ramada Inn in Queens on Monday, when three men wearing masks barged in with guns drawn and ordered her to get down on the ground.

They then bound her hands with duct tape and kicked and punched her, leaving her with two black eyes.

They then pointed a gun at Schreiner— a former prostitute who now performs private sadomasochistic sessions — and demanded she give up the pin code for her debit card.

Then then took off and used her card five times.

Schreiner recently moved to the Big Apple from Niagara Falls, and said she typically meets with two or three clients per day.

“I deal with guys in power— judges, criminal lawyers, and doctors asking me to pee on them, f–k them with dildos all kinds of sick s–t,” she said. “But those a–holes took my toys and now I’m going to have two black eyes. I don’t know what I’m gonna tell my clients.”

She told the Post that she suspects the thugs were hired by her revenge-seeking former co-worker.

 

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Cow Suit-Wearing Shoplifter Offers to Let Cop Suck Udder to Avoid Arrest

By HardBoiledNews Staff

UDDER MADNESS: Ashley Curry tried to use her teats to get out of a shoplifting bust

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas — Sounds like a case of mad cow disease.

A woman dressed in a black and white cow costume was busted for shoplifting at an Arkansas Walmart and then told the arresting officer he could suck one of the pink udders hanging from the front of her suit.

Pine Bluff police say Ashley Curry, 27, tried to walk off with a pack of Flonase, but was spotted by security officers monitoring the store’s surveillance cameras, because of her not-so inconspicuous outfit, KATV-TV reported.

After being detained, Curry told a cop searching her, that he could “suck a pink cow udder,” as she thrust the nipples dangling from the front of her costume in the officer’s face.

It was unclear if the offer was meant as an insult or a bribe.

Either way, cops charged Curry with shoplifting and resisting arrest.

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Drama Teacher Accused of Molestation Found Dead Just Before Closing Arguments

By HardBoiledNews Staff

David Michael Bruce is suspected of committing suicide just ahead of closing arguments in his molestation case

ANAHEIM, California — A retired junior high school drama teacher on trial for allegedly molesting his students was found dead in his home of an apparent suicide just before closing arguments in his case were set to begin.

David Michael Bruce, 68, was found dead after failing to appear in court in southern California as his case was winding to a close, authorities said.

Police said they suspected a suicide, but the official cause of death remained pending. Bruce had faced up to life in prison if he had been convicted.

Bruce was accused of molesting students over the course of 15 years at Sycamore Junior High in Anaheim. Prosecutors said Bruce would typically begin with massages before escalating the molestation.

“He would tell them he had Hollywood connections” and could help them get jobs in the film industry, Deputy District Attorney Rick Zimmer said in his opening statement of the trial, according to the Orange County Register.

“The defendant basically has an obsession with male buttocks,” he said, noting that the allegations included “a lot of rubbing, touching and spanking the buttocks of these victims.”

Police also allegedly found erotic photos of young boys in the teacher’s residence.

One of the boys was a special education student who would “hang out” with his teacher at lunch, according to the prosecutor, who said the educator gave the boy gifts such as an iPod and skateboard.

One of the alleged victims confided in his sister, “who actually is the reason this whole investigation got started,” Zimmer said. A custodian at the school reported he “walked in on the defendant massaging a student.”

Bruce’s attorney had argued his client’s accusers had histories of psychiatric issues and dishonesty and were hoping to cash in on lawsuits.

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Pervy Pol and Gal Pal Charged With Filming Woman After Spiking Drink

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Larry Weinstein and Kelly Drucker called filming a passed out drunk woman their ‘mission’

NORTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — A former town supervisor and his gal pal have been charged with plotting to use spy glasses and a web camera to film a heavily intoxicated woman they had plied with booze, prosecutors said.

Lawrence Jay Weinstein, 44, and Kelly Drucker, 45, plotted last year to spike the victim’s drink with high-proof hooch so she couldn’t drive home, so they could bring her back to Drucker’s house where a webcam was hidden in the bathroom.

“Don’t let her go to the bathroom until she gets back to your place,” Weinstein wrote in a text message to appears to Drucker.

The couple began planning what they called their “mission,” in late October 2017, which led Drucker to have dinner with the victim at a Mexican restaurant  the following month. During the meal, Drucker encouraged the woman to drink heavily.

Weinstein, a lawyer who resigned as a Northampton Township Supervisor last month, was not at the dinner, but kept in communication with Drucker throughout the night via text message, coaching her to convince the victim to come back to Drucker’s home, the complaint said.

“Keep sober so you can make it happen and aren’t too drunk to win,” Weinstein’s texts said, according to prosecutors.

When Drucker got the woman back to her house, Weinstein bombarded her with messages about keeping her there and asking her sexually-charged questions as Drucker gave her more to drink.

The woman eventually got sick and passed out in a bathroom, prompting Weinstein to urge Drucker to use the spy glasses to take photos of the victim.

“Don’t worry about her. Get glasses on now,” the texts read. “Get her naked and get [sic] door open.”

Weinstein later told cops he was “concerned” for the victim, and was not sure if he should call an ambulance, according to court papers.

A few days later, Weinstein and Drucker discussed by text plans for a future “mission,” which police believe meant finding additional victims.

The victim told cops, she remembered little from the evening, although she did recall going to dinner and noticing  her wine “didn’t taste right,” and that she was “so sick” the following morning. She told detectives she does not recall the rest of the night after commenting on the wine.

During their investigation, detectives recovered photos of the victim taken while she was in the bathroom at Drucker’s home. The investigation began after a man in August discovered illicit messages on a phone that once belonged to Drucker.

Detectives say they found photos on an iPad showing Weinstein sexually assaulting a woman in late 2012 while she was unconscious. That victim told police she was not aware of the incident and did not consent to Weinstein touching her or taking the photos.

Both Weinstein and Drucker are being held on $300,000 bond.

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