Those Wacky South Floridians...From Today's Palm Beach Post
Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 4:20PM Editor's note: South Florida is home to some of the most unusual folks and crimes anywhere. Here are our picks for this month's most "interesting" incidents in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
Looking to score at the doughnut store
Delray Beach: A woman was in a doughnut shop in the 2000 block of West Atlantic Avenue when a man came up and asked her to give him a hug. She obliged. While she was paying for her coffee, the man kissed the back of her neck and tried to give her a shoulder massage. All this attention made her very nervous she said, so she reported the incident to the police.
The break-in and theft were bad enough
Wellington: A couple woke up at approximately 3:30 a.m. to find their garage and car door open. Nothing was stolen from the vehicle. A backpack, laptop computer and $100 cash were stolen from the house. The burglar defecated in the couple’s toilet before leaving.
It's all about you, man
Delray Beach: A man drove away from a crash he caused involving five cars and a pedestrian in the 300 block of Southwest Fourth Street. When contacted by phone, he first told police his car was parked and he was in Pompano Beach. Then he said he had left the scene because his license was suspended and he was afraid his insurance would not pay to have his car fixed. He was told about the injuries to the others but was interested only in his car.
Not doing business
Lake Worth: A thief with apparently one thing in mind walked into a business in the 1200 block of South Dixie Highway, went directly to the paper aisle, grabbed a roll of Scott toilet paper and walked out without paying for it. The man was detained, then arrested and taken to the county jail. Cost of the purloined paper: $1.19.
Hate when that happens
Loxahatchee/The Acreage: A drunken man got his hand stuck inside a mailbox in the 4000 block of Coconut Boulevard. To free his hand, the man bent the mailbox, damaging it. When a deputy tried to talk to the man, he was incoherent. He told the deputy he was walking home from West Palm Beach and did not know where his car was.
Some people hang wreaths instead
Jupiter: Several officers were sent to a store in the 1600 block of West Indiantown Road just before 5 p.m. when a couple of callers reported a man and a woman took a shotgun into the business. Officers set up a perimeter around the business; a little while later the man walked through the front doors and was taken into custody. The officers then went inside and found the double-barrel shotgun propped up against a cash register. The gun was secured and the woman was found and taken into custody. The two were questioned at headquarters, and the man said they had taken the gun to the store to measure it for mounting hooks. The gun, the man said, didn’t work, was an antique, and they wanted to hang it on their wall as part of their Christmas decorations. He also said he didn’t realize he was doing anything illegal.
Don't block the traffic
West Palm Beach: Police on surveillance saw a woman waving to motorists at the corner of 13th Street and North Dixie Highway. A Jeep stopped and the woman got in. They drove to a spot in the 1900 block of North Flagler Drive and parked, but left two minutes later. An officer followed the vehicle, and while they were stopped at a red light he saw the woman providing her sexual services to the man who was driving. When the light turned green, the Jeep did not move, prompting other vehicles to blow their horns. The man eventually made a turn, pulled over at a drug store and let the woman out. Police apprehended the man, who said the woman asked for $40 for her services, but settled for the $15 he had. He was arrested and released on the scene. The woman, also apprehended, was taken to the county jail based on previous convictions for similar crimes.
Urine trouble
Delray Beach: A caller complained that a woman wearing an orange shirt and blue shorts was urinating on her neighbor’s lawn in the 100 block of Swinton Circle. The woman said that she was on her way to a friend’s house and was too far from a bathroom so she decided to go on an unknown person’s lawn. She did not realize that there were people outside or that she had committed a crime by exposing herself.
Maybe the police can't swim
Boca Raton: When police responded to a call in the 6400 block of Pondapple Road, the trespasser ran straight through the house, out the back door and jumped into the swimming pool trying to avoid arrest.
Pet testing
Delray Beach: A man placed posters about his missing cat throughout the neighborhood around the 400 block of Southwest 27th Avenue. Someone called and said that she had found the cat, but wouldn’t give it back because it looked younger than the poster picture and that she had decided to adopt it. After some discussion, she agreed to return the cat only if it looked exactly like the photo and responded to the owner’s dog in a way that showed they were friends.
Reader Comments (2)
Oh well we have been returned to outside connection once again. Broadband although slow back as well as phones. There was a loose wire at the local exchange. Finished travelling for the summer now, missed entering a couple of competitions in September. Last competition was on the edge of the Cotswolds, estate belonging to Lord and Lady Bathurst, Cirencester Park. Only fifteen minutes to walk from where we were camping to the town of Cirencester. Just imagine years ago how the carriages must have swept into the town and down the drive to wherever the house was but that bit I dont know. Having been there twice still haven't worked out where the mansion could be, certainly a huge estate and assume there is still a residence there.
Like the newspaper articles "nowt so queer as folk".
Come on Dana wheres my coffee morning updates? I looked, and looked in vain, please something to keep me sane. Hows house settling in and what are you all doing now?