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The skinny

By Times Wires
Published December 15, 2007

Police work

Try to find the evidence before the jury does

It was not a red-letter day for CSI: Hagerstown. Moses Streete was in a Maryland court for his sentencing after being convicted on armed robbery charges. The jury was inspecting evidence - in this case his coat - when they found a roll of cash, a rubber glove and a bandage. Or, as experts might refer to it: more evidence. Despite the fact that this seems to bolster the prosecution's case, the defense asked for a new trial. And they got it. The strategy on the re-trial is to get all the evidence thrown out as tainted. The police are positive they looked in the pockets, and can't explain how they missed it.

Flinging fish

It won't taste like tuna, but that's okay

One of the highlights of the Tunarama Festival each January in Port Lincoln, Australia, is the tuna toss. But starting next year, a key ingredient will be missing from the tuna toss: the tuna. It's not so much a nod to PETA or anything, they just got tired of wasting good fish. But fear not, the tuna toss tradition will continue with new polyurethane fish-looking replicas sculpted by an artist. "The dimensions are perfect," said the festival's acting manager, Merriwyne Hore. "We road tested it with one of our champions. He was really impressed."

Moving violations

Parking payment option quite costly

The good news is: You can use your debit card to pay parking machines in Norway. The bad news: A glitch in the system meant that for 26 drivers, parking in the city of Trondheim cost them anywhere from $37,000 to $148,000 last week. It seems that the computer inadvertently multiplied the parking fee by 10,000, then automatically deducted that amount from the bank accounts. "I can understand that it caused problems," parking official Steinar Myhr said. "I'm sure some saw the humor in it." We looked, and couldn't find any of the people quoted as seeing humor in it. The parking company said it is working with banks to correct the problem.

Sure, towing a cop car sounds fun ...

Revenge was on the mind of an Oregon tow truck driver. Having recently been given a ticket, he decided to get back at police in general by hooking up a patrol car that parked in front of a house while on a call. Another cop stopped him, and he agreed to release the car, but then he jumped in the cab of his truck and refused to cooperate with police. His manager was eventually called to the scene and talked him out, at which point he was arrested.

Update

Potty mouth

Dawn Herb's profane rant against her overflowing toilet will not land her in jail. Herb, of Scranton, Pa., was charged with disorderly conduct after a neighbor complained that he could hear her October outburst. But a judge dismissed the charges Thursday, saying they are covered under the First Amendment. There is no comment from Herb, because her lawyers advised her not to speak to reporters. Whoa. What did they think she might say?

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 15, 2007, 01:14:43]