Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Digest

The skinny

By TIMES WIRES
Published February 16, 2007

His defense: My client is just a total moron

Peter Donaldson has pleaded guilty to one count of uttering threats in Winnipeg, Manitoba, after he sent police an e-mail suggesting that prostitutes should be killed. His attorney took an interesting approach to his defense. Here's how Phil Cramer described Donaldson and his actions during the sentencing hearing: "appallingly stupid," "ill-conceived," "nuisance," "criminal gibberish." It is not yet known how successful this strategy was, as the sentencing hearing is continuing.

Hiding? Put cell phone on 'vibrate'

Eric M. Nolan of East Dennis, Mass., has been betrayed by his cell phone. The Boston Herald reports that, according to police, Nolan, 42, was released on domestic violence charges, then hours later went over to his girlfriend's condo and attacked her and threatened houseguests. Then he left and came back and tried to break in. When police got there, Nolan seemed to be long gone. But one of the officers got Nolan's cell phone number and called it. Ringing came from the woods nearby. Officers called the number several times, then went into the woods and picked him up.

No varmints on international flights

Pilots do not like it when someone gets past that cockpit door. Even if it's over the cockpit. An American Airlines flight heading from Tokyo to Dallas had to make an unscheduled stop in Honolulu when the crew heard something skittering about above them. It was a stowaway squirrel, above, making his way through the wiry area. The pilots feared the critter could chew through one of the more important wires and, well, they tried not to think about it beyond that. "You do not want a varmint up in the wiring areas. You don't want anything up there," said airline spokesman John Hotard. Everyone on the plane was booked on another flight while officials hunted for the culprit: an eastern gray squirrel. Turns out squirrels face a stiff penalty for stowing away. It was exterminated.

He threw tantrum, and son's opponent

Ray Hoffman did not take his son's defeat lightly. As his son's 11-year-old opponent was about to be declared the winner of a youth wrestling match in Aurora, Ill., Hoffman ran on to the mat and picked the boy up and threw him off. "I was just wrestling, then the guy throws me," Nick Nasenbeny said. Good thing no one ever has videocameras at youth sports events, otherwise Hoffman could be in big trouble. Oh, wait. Happens that the boy's father did have one. "There is a lot of different ways to stop a match. Not to pick up my son and launch him 5 feet, 10 feet in the air," Dan Nasenbeny said. Hoffman assures everyone he feels really bad about the whole thing and says he was edgy because his son has a shoulder injury.

Compiled from Times wires and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster.

[Last modified February 16, 2007, 00:32:01]