8 WTF Crime Stories

While there are crimes of passion and crimes of the heart, today we look at 8 stories related to crime that were just strange.

8 Strange Crime Stories

Below we have compiled a few strange crime-related stories reported here at wafflesatnoon.com over the years.

8. Dad Turns in Son on Live TV

April 2014. In keeping true to the saying that “Anything can happen on live T.V.,” a Mississippi dad turned in his fugitive son during a live television news broadcast in April 2014. The fugitive, 27-year old Michael Phillips, had escaped from a Mississippi Jones County detention center while completing gardening duty.

Phillips’ escape led to a 2-hour man hunt that included checks of vehicles traveling in the area and on the local highway. Sheriff Alex Hodge was being interviewed by local television station WDAM and was providing information about the escape and the fugitive.

Hodge had just finished saying, “Michael Phillips is a 27-year old white male from Jones County, was working in the garden…” on live television when he was interrupted by a white pick-up truck that parked behind him. Michael Phillips’ dad exited the vehicle and turned over his son who was in the passenger seat. Michael Phillips calmly spoke with the Sheriff while his father said that he “just doesn’t want him to get mistreated in jail or whatever.”

Sheriff Hodge seemed puzzled about the series of events and asked Phillips why he escaped from supervision. Phillips’ father answered, “He’s a youngin’.”

Michael Phillips apologized to the Sheriff for the escape and shook his hand while Hodge replied that turning himself in was “the manly thing to do” and it was the best thing he could have and that he earned the sheriff’s respect.

With his dad by his side, Phillips surprisingly asked the sheriff, “Can I still just pay the fine and get out later?” Sheriff Hodge replied that they’ll talk about it later.

See how the events unfolded in the video below:

While still on live television, Phillips was later speaking with the Sheriff and his father drove away and yelled a quick goodbye from the vehicle. After Phillips was put into handcuffs and taken back to jail, Sheriff Hodge gave a statement that there is “nothing like live T.V.” and indicated that they would be looking to charge Michael Phillips with escape.

Michael Phillips was originally arrested for possession of beer in a dry county, possession of paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance.

7. Man Leaves ID at Crime Scene

February 2015. Authorities in central Florida didn’t have to wade through oodles of evidence to locate a robbery suspect. Police said they found his wallet in the Cape Canaveral convenience store he alleged robbed.

According to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Alexander Shaw, 25, demanded the Circle K store clerk give him money, and threatened to return with a gun if he didn’t comply.

The arrest report said Shaw took $40 and left. When police arrived, the clerk showed them the wallet that belonged to Shaw, with his ID inside.

Shaw was located several blocks away and taken into custody. The clerk identified Shaw as the perpetrator, and the entire incident was caught on the store’s surveillance video.

Shaw faced charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and robbery.

6. Smart Car Tipping in San Francisco

April 2014. Several Smart Cars were found tipped over by vandals in San Francisco in April 2014.

Four Smart Cars were found tipped in various positions – on their headlights, rear bumper, on their side, or completely upside down.

Although some may have viewed it as a prank – a sort of modern take on cow tipping – San Francisco police officer Gordon Shyy noted, “It is a felony vandalism case given the damage to these vehicles.”

An eyewitness reported that six to eight hooded figures surround a Smart Car at around 1am. The group lifted the car up, and flipped it over.

A Smart Car cost about $13,000 to $18,000 and weighs about 1500 pounds. Several Smart Car owners in San Francisco told NBC that there is little they can do to avoid future tippings, as garages are not commonplace in the area.

Police had no motive for the car tippings, and believed it may simply been a prank. A similar Smart Car tipping occurred in the Edmonton area back in 2009, leading to a man being charged with mischief.

5. Prisoners Get Drug-Soaked Mail

February 2015. Some postcards sent to Fort Lauderdale’s Broward County Jail apparently included more than just drawings or photographs.

Federal prosecutors said the postcards were spiked with a psychedelic drug with effects that are similar to those seen with LSD. They said inmates were paying $10 for a small piece of the card. Inmates absorbed the drug by placing it into their mouths.

Two inmates pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. Authorities said 56-year-old William Hahne was the third man in the scheme, mailing the cards to the inmates. He was been charged with possessing and distributing the drug but pleaded not guilty.

Hahne’s lawyer said the man would undergo a psychiatric evaluation at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.

The investigation began in August after jail officials received a tip from an inmate.

4. Father-Son Chicken Wing Scam

December 2015. A father and son were caught stealing over $40,000 in chicken wings from the Twin Trees Too Restaurant in New York.

Paul and Joshua Rojek of Syracuse were employees of the restaurant and were caught placing orders from the establishment’s wholesalers and reselling them at a lower price.

From February through November 2015, the two men billed over $40,000 in chicken wings to the restaurant’s account. Authorities said the men sold the wings to other restaurants, or to people on the street and pocketed the money.

The father and son faced charges of third-degree grand larceny and first-degree falsifying business records. CBS News reported that the men previously faced charges for stealing wings in the same manner from another restaurant.

3. Cocaine Breast Implants

June 2015. A woman was busted in Bogota, Colombia after she was found to have breast implants filled with cocaine.

Paola Deyanira Sabillon, a 22-year old Honduran woman, was acting suspiciously while at El Dorado International Airport, which prompted security to question her. When the woman was x-rayed, officials saw that she had recently undergone breast surgery. It’s then that Sabillon confessed to having an “unknown substance” recently implanted in her during her 10-day visit to the country.

Officials found 1.5kg, or 3.3 pounds, of liquid cocaine in the woman’s breast implants. She told investigators that she had been hired to transport the substance.

The woman’s implants were removed at a Bogota hospital and she was being treated for an infection related to the original surgery, which is believed to have occurred in Pereira, Colombia. She was preparing to fly to Spain at the time of her arrest.

She was released to Colombian national police after a 5-day hospitalization. She faced 6 years in prison.

Oddly, a second woman was busted in Columbia only months later for attempting to smuggle 1400 grams of cocaine in her breast implants.

2. Man Attacked with Snickers Bar

December 2015. A man waiting for a subway train in New York was randomly attacked by a stranger who punched him in the face with a Snickers bar.

As reported by Gothamist, artist Ian Sklarsky was waiting for his subway train around midnight on December 8 when a strange man approached him and struck him in the face with a partially-unwrapped Snickers bar.

“All of a sudden he shoved it into my face, and in my mouth. It was kind of a face punch of sorts, but with a candy bar,” he told Gothamist.

After randomly punching Sklarsky, the stranger began to walk away, but returned when Sklarsky asked the attacker what was wrong. A scuffle ensued and the victim was punched about five more times. He suffered a cut lip and bruised nose.

One of about a dozen witnesses called 911.

Eliexer Reyes of New York City was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault to cause injury and disorderly conduct. He was being held on $500 bail.

The NYPD said that Reyes had been arrested for punching others in the past.

1. Naked “YOLO” DUI

December 2015. A man in Florida was arrested on a DUI charge after being clocked at 109 MPH while driving naked and accompanied by three women.

In what some may call the ultimate “YOLO” moment, 33-year old Noe DeJesus was arrested after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper clocked him driving 109 miles per hour across Alligator Alley toward Naples. The FHP had received several calls of a Cadillac driving recklessly through the area.

The trooper noted a shirtless man after pulling him over, only to realize he was completely naked after opening the door of his car.

The drunk man was accompanied by three women.

The trooper said that DeJesus had an open 12-pack of Corona beer between the front seats. He also smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. DeJesus almost fell when attempting to put his pants on after exiting the vehicle.

The arresting officer also found a nearly-empty bottle of Crown Royal, along with several empty beer bottles strewn throughout the vehicle. After failing a sobriety test, DeJesus was arrested.

He also faced a charge of driving without a license.