41 replies to this topic

[zencat]

So I'm doing a pitch on Thursday and I'm seeking stories about stupid/unique/funny reasons people have gone to jail. You know, the guy who tried to steal a condom machine from a public bathroom, or rob a toy store with a toy gun, or the guy with five wives. My step-father (who works in a prison) told me about a parolee who was sent back because he jay-walked on his way to his hearing.

Anyone have any stories that they

[Qwerty]

I once saw on a stupid criminal show a burglar caught on camera giving his address to where he was currently living to a store manager that he was ordering to bring the money to his house.

In the end, the manager came with the police to his house and caught him.

Another such episode showed a burglar getting caught in a store and finally getting caught by the police because he was trying to push a door open to leave, when you were supposed to pull it open to leave.

[SnakeEyes]

The dumbest reason people get cought for crime is poor planning.

Someone I used to know tried to hold up a post office with a cap gun.
The clerk behind the desk realised it was plastic and went to call the cops.
The guy ran and tripped over outside, right into a police man walking past.
Cop saw the gun and was 'ere ere, whats going on...'

The rest is history. The guy doing the robbery was your typical 'born to lose' person.

[Genrewriter]

A guy once stole an ATM machine by yanking it out of the wall with his truck. The police were able to capture him quite easily, they just followed the truck with the ATM machine trailing after it.

[Turn]

I liked one I read recently that happened about 20 years ago. A guy was an inmate in jail and they let him out once bail and all that was taken care of. Once he got outside, he decided to give the finger to those still incarcerated. He was immediately returned back into the jail. No word as what happened to him afterward, although I'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall.

What's even funnier for me is he shares the same name with my boss (although it's not him.

[Mister Asterix]

I don

[booyeah_]

These both happened within the last week(I saw it on the national news):

*A man robbed a convience store, and made away with the money. He came back later and apologised to the clerk who locked the store up and called the police.


*A man broke through barb wired fences, bullet proof glass and high technological security defenses at an important IRS building. He wasn't looking for dosh or classified paper but instead tried to use the vending machine. After shaking the machine, the alarms went off and he escaped from the law without any candy.


Why would someone do that?

Edited by booyeah_, 21 March 2004 - 01:44 AM.

[Athena007]

oh I JUST remembered I heard this on the news...

This happened in a smaller town. Yes there were paved roads but just as many dirt roads too. These guys went and robbed a carpet store and had put the rolled up carpet in their pick-up truck and it was hanging off the back of the truck and while they were driving the carpet was dragging on the roads and the dirt and making a trail right back to one of the guys houses. All the cops had to do with follow the trail.

[Agent 76]

here's a stupid reason to go to jail:

Robbing chewing gum! lollllllll

[americanbond]

Here is a great one from my hometown of Southboro, MA:


So two guys are driving around and come across a party happening at a house. They stop at the house and enter the party looking for a good time. After mingling for quite a while the guys start attempting to sell some drugs that they have on them (coke and pot). Little do they realize, the party they had entered was a holiday party for the local police officers. The obvioulsy find this out very soon as they are quickly arrested and taken to jail.

[mattbowyer]

Always liked the one about the guy who robbed the convenience store and told the cashier to hand him a bottle of alcohol. The cashier said he needed ID...

Blah you know the rest.

mb

[Loomis]

Stupid reasons for going to jail? Well, here in the UK one can be imprisoned for not paying one's TV licence, although that probably won't help you out unless your script is set in Britain. Lemme think.... well, wasn't Cheech or Chong banged up quite recently for selling bongs on the internet, or something like that? Now, to me, that's not something that merits a stretch, but others might disagree. One man's "stupid reason" might cause another to shout: "Lock the deadbeat up and throw away the key!"

I recommend, zen, that you look at the "Funny Old World" columns of the British satirical mag Private Eye - they often feature hilarious (and supposedly true) stories of incompetent criminals. Don't know whether there's a web archive of these accounts, but I reckon a Google search might throw a few of them up.

[brendan007]

Stupid reasons for going to jail? Well, here in the UK one can be imprisoned for not paying one's TV licence, although that probably won't help you out unless your script is set in Britain.

You guys have to pay a licence for tv??

[Loomis]

[quote name='brendan007' date='21 March 2004 - 11:46'] You guys have to pay a licence for tv??

[brendan007]

So is everyone outraged that Britains have to pay for tv when the rest of the world gets it for free. I am honestly shocked that people would pay for just normal tv.

[Loomis]

Well, I know that in Japan one must pay a licence fee for NHK, the public service broadcaster. And doesn't Australia have public service broadcasting? If the government doesn't levy a licence fee, it must be collecting the revenue to pay for it in other ways, such as via taxes.

[brendan007]

Well, I know that in Japan one must pay a licence fee for NHK, the public service broadcaster. And doesn't Australia have public service broadcasting? If the government doesn't levy a licence fee, it must be collecting the revenue to pay for it in other ways, such as via taxes.

Hmm, we have one channel that the government pays for, but its not very popular and only occasionally produces shows that are worth watching. As far as I know thats the only part of our taxes that goes towards having television, the only tv I know that most people pay for is cable.

[mattbowyer]

Yeah our taxes go toward SBS and ABC but the idea of having a TV licence appears to be INSANE!

How much is it!? Is it like a drivers licence!? Is it for allll tv?

[Roebuck]

The dumbest reason people get cought for crime is poor planning.

Someone I used to know tried to hold up a post office with a cap gun.

Similar story. Boyfriend of a girl I used to know walked into the store where he worked wearing a ski mask and tried to rob it using a replica gun he had bought there the previous day with his staff discount. As the manager had already cashed up and left for the bank with the days takings, this idiots 'haul' amounted a few rolls of change which just about covered his train fare home.

Not particularly funny. Just profoundly stupid.

[Tarl_Cabot]

I heard a story about a burgular who broke into a home and took a knap before leaving! he was busted asleep!

[Xenobia]

I can't remember if she had to pay a fine, or she went to jail, but there was a young lady who was at a rock concert and had to use the bathroom. Badly.

She went to the Men's room, and got caught. The security guards arrested her for indecent exposure.

Check the website of Reader's Digest and their section called "That's Outrageous!" and they have lots of stupid stuff like that up there.

-- X

[Icephoenix]

A man working at a petrol station had just finished his shift, said goodbye to his fellow workers and left the store. Ten minutes later, he returned, wearing a stocking over his head, yelling at the attendants for the money in the register ... he was robbing the place. The thing was though, he was still wearing his uniform - and name tag.

[zencat]

Great stuff!

Thanks everybody.

[MrDraco]

at my local mall, a store there that i'm glad to say isn't there anymore once lost 4,000 dollars in cloths etc from a month of stealing, a group of high school kids took in the fact that they're black friends were being watched at all times and them being white, were alowed to practically do what ever they wanted with out suppervision, so...they got together and planed a clever way of stealing things...they'd send the white kids in first and look around, and then have the black kids come in dressed in gang colors etc..(something you'd see on a 50 cent video) and look around acting real suspcious while the white kids robbed the piss out of the place....I thought it was grand...

[Johnboy007]

I thought this was pretty dumb:

http://www.nbc10.com...562/detail.html

[Qwerty]

People who think they're destroying evidence of them secretly stealing certain amounts of money, when they later find out after they've been caught that they weren't shredding the evidence, but just storing it for the police to find.

Happened somewhat near where I live. About $2.2 million...all found because she thought the papers were shredded.

[mccartney007]

A man tried to rob the drive-thru of a bank by putting his gun in the little deposit tube and sending it to the cashier.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

A man tried to rob the drive-thru of a bank by putting his gun in the little deposit tube and sending it to the cashier.

damn now that is dumb

[Qwerty]

A man trying to rob two ATM machines by first putting in his card to make it look as though he's being normal. Then trying to attach the machines to his truck, not being able to, so quickly drives off empty handed.

All the while, the person to last use the machine with their card, (himself) is identified and caught.

[Jim]

Well, there's this...

http://news.bbc.co.u...cas/3903967.stm

To paraphrase Austin Powers: "Who throws an alligator? Honestly!"