Chuck Shepherd's News of The Weird

<strong>Rookie Mistake</strong> <p>Tyechia Rembert, 33, was arrested and charged with robbing a Burger King drive-thru cashier in York, Pa., in December. Reportedly, Rembert made it easy on police officers investigating the case. Allegedly, after her clean getaway, she called the restaurant to see if any of the witnesses had noted her car's license plate number. None had, but police used cell phone records to trace that call to Rembert.</p> <p><strong><br /> </strong></p> <p><strong>Police Report</strong></p> <p>In December, John Whittle, 52, was charged with robbing a Wells Fargo Bank in Port Richey, Fla. According to police, Whittle ordered a beer at the Hayloft Bar shortly after 1 p.m. and then excused himself. About 30 minutes later, he reportedly returned to finish his beer. In the interim, police said later, Whittle had walked down the street to the bank and robbed it.<br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Clichés Come to Life&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </strong></p> <p>(1) A 28-year-old man in New York City quietly excused himself the morning after his wedding in November (at a hotel following an elaborate reception), took a taxi to a Harlem River overlook, and jumped to his death. According to a relative, the man's suicide note mentioned that he &quot;couldn't take it anymore.&quot; (2) In 2010, Luna Oraivej, 37, was ordered by a court in Seattle to take an anger-management course to settle a charge of domestic violence. In December 2011, she filed a complaint against the creator of the course because a fellow attendee had stabbed her in the arm during a classroom dispute.<br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Undignified Deaths</strong></p> <p>(1) In December, a sheriff's deputy killed a 77-year-old man who was standing beside his own engraved tombstone in a cemetery in Gardnerville, Nev. (The man reportedly was holding a shotgun and was distraught over the death of his wife.) (2) A 20-year-old man died of an apparent cocaine overdose in North Charleston, S.C., in December as a result of trying to help his older brother. The pair had been arrested and placed in a police cruiser when the older brother convinced the younger one to swallow the ounce of cocaine the older man was carrying. (According to a police report, the cocaine had been stored in the older man's &quot;backside.&quot;) <br /><br /></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Obsessions</strong></p> <p>Don Aslett, 76, recently opened the Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho, as the culmination of a lifelong devotion to tidying up. Highlights include several hundred pre-electric vacuum cleaners and interactive exhibits to encourage kids to clean their rooms. Aslett told London's <em>Daily Mail</em> in December that people who don't understand his dedication must never have experienced the satisfaction of making a toilet bowl sparkle. <br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Time for New Technology</strong></p> <p>A December news release from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of the dangers of <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> bacteria infections on a Wyoming sheep ranch, but apparently only among workers who used an old-style method of castrating the animals. CDC strongly urged that workers stop biting off the sheep's genitals and instead use modern tools.<br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Surprising Discoveries</strong></p> <p>(1) Dan D'Amato, 45, was partying in a motel room in Orlando, Fla., in December, when he was shot by an unknown assailant. Later, as D'Amato's wounded hip was being treated at a hospital, doctors discovered and removed a &quot;huge&quot; tumor in his lungs that had so far gone unnoticed. The tumor was not cancerous, but had it not been found, it likely would have proved fatal. (2) At a home in Taylorsville, Utah, in December, one housemate who was pursuing a mouse in the kitchen accidentally shot another housemate. As police investigated, they discovered a 13-year-old girl hiding in a closet. A third housemate, Paul Kunzler, 34, was then arrested and charged with carrying on a months-long sexual relationship with the girl. <br /><br /></p> <p> </p> <p><em>© 2012 Chuck Shepherd</em></p>