SMOKED ALIEN

A Baraboo, Wisconsin man was arrested after he shot a hole in his floor because he was high on marijuana.

26-year-old Jonathan D. Popple told cops that he thought a rock he was standing on was an alien he had seen in a movie. He then tried to shoot it, blasting a hole that went all the way down to his basement.

He was charged with possession and intent to sell.

(Originally reported by the Baraboo News Republic)

HOT TUB HOBO MACHINE

A homeless Beaverton, Oregon man was arrested after he called 911 in order to request a hug, some towels and some hot cocoa. He called the authorities while sitting in a hot tub outside a house he had broken into.

He initially identified himself as the sheriff of WashingtonCounty but eventually fessed up to his real identity.

He was charged with second-degree criminal trespass and improper use of emergency services.

(Originally reported by the AP)

HISTORY LESSON

A retired Chicago, Illinois federal agent has discovered that his city was home to country's very first female police officer. She apparently worked in the city sometime in the 1890s.

Rick Barrett came across the name Marie Owens in 2007 and later discovered that she had been a detective sergeant. She had been hired initially as a city factory inspector in 1889 in order to help enforce child labor and compulsory education laws. She was transferred to the police department in 1891.

Until now she had been largely forgotten due to historians incorrectly identifying her as the widow of another patrolman.

(Originally reported by UPI)

COURSE FIRE

An Irvine, California golf course went up in flames after a golf club hit a rock and sparked a blaze. Nearly 200 firefighters responded to the scene.

An unidentified player nicked his club against the rock while taking a swing.

It took firefighters several hours to tamp down the flames.

(Originally reported by the UPI)

LOOPED LION

The person portraying PennState's Nittany Lion mascot was suspended from his duties and subsequently cited after he was busted for underage drinking.

20-year-old Clint T. Gyory was relieved of his role for the first four games of the PSU football season.He was found by cops passed out in the back of a pick-up truck.

He faces fines that may total up to $1,000.

(Originally reported by the CentreDaily.com)

FACEBOOK THREAT

A middle school student in Louisville, Kentucky, is facing a charge of terroristic threatening as a result of comments he posted on his Facebook page.

The comments referred to the absolute destruction of the JessieClarkMiddle School. The unnamed student said that he meant them to be a joke and didn't intend to seriously harm anyone.

The school principal sent home a note with each student after the incident that said there were "no threats against any individuals" and that there was "no reason to believe that any of our students or staff were in any danger."

(Originally reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader)

GHOST CAR

A Darien, Connecticut, man who was driving down Interstate 95 bailed out of his car only to watch it continue two tenths of a mile down the road before it crashed into a pole.

Cops aren't sure why 51-year-old Robert Craig decided to get out of his moving car, but he didn't sustain any serious injuries.

The accident is under investigation.

(Originally reported by the AP)

DUMP TRUCK CHASE

A 37-year-old Syracuse, New York, man led police on an hour-long chase -- while driving a dump truck.

Stanley Lostumbo reached speeds of up to 65 miles per hour and crossed through backyards, school grounds and down railroad tracks before cops shot him to end the fracas. He was hit in the shoulder and taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.

The chase began after cops busted Lostumbo stealing from vending machines at a local mall.

(Originally reported by the AP)

HAMMER TIME

Police in Stuart, Florida, are on the lookout for a woman who took a claw hammer to a local ATM machine and caused $8,000 worth of damage.

The woman spent roughly 20 minutes trying to extract cash from the machine -- to no avail. The whole thing was caught on security video.

(Originally reported by the Palm Beach Post)

GREASE IS THE WORD

A North Charleston, South Carolina, man was arrested after he got stuck in a grease vent while trying to break into a local restaurant.

23-year-old Kevin Michael Harley had to wait roughly seven hours before authorities could free him. An employee of the restaurant heard him calling for help and called the cops.

He was charged with second-degree burglary.

(Originally reported by the AP)

SMOKE OUT

A South Brunswick, New Jersey, woman's vehicle went up in flames after she was unable to flick a lit cigarette out of her window.

The 19-year-old managed to escape the car without sustaining any injuries, but her ride wasn't so lucky -- it was destroyed by the flames. No charges were filed.

(Originally reported by UPI)

CANNONBALL!

Students at Georgia's Kennesaw State University had to be evacuated after two Civil War-era cannonballs were discovered in a rarely used room.

The staff members who discovered the cannonballs were not sure if they were still live and called the police. The bomb squad removed them from the facility and the cannonballs were eventually detonated at an isolated location.

(Originally reported by UPI)

POT POLICE

A Flint, Michigan, man is on the run from cops after he posed as a police officer and robbed a man of multiple marijuana plants and roughly $500 in cash.

The 65-year-old suspect told the victim -- who was a medical marijuana user -- that he was over the weight limit for the pot and confiscated 12 plants. He also snagged the victim's gun.

The suspect and his two accomplices are still at large.

(Originally reported by MLive.com)

TRIAL POST

A Mount Clemens, Michigan, woman was relieved of being a juror after she posted on her Facebook page that the defendant was guilty before the trial was over.

20-year-old Hadley Jons wrote that it was "gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're guilty." The defense attorney's son discovered the post and passed it along to his mother.

The defendant was eventually convicted of a felony though the jury couldn't agree on a separate misdemeanor charge.

(Originally reported by the AP)

TIRE-LESS

A 65-year-old security guard in Chicago, Illinois, was arrested after he shot out the tire of a tow truck that was in the process of repossessing his vehicle.

Ike D. Holmes had initially gotten into an argument with the tow truck drivers before he drew his unregistered firearm and discharged it.

He faces multiple charges.

(Originally reported by ChicagoBreakingNews.com)

CASH BASH

A Zephyrhills, Florida man was arrested after he attacked an ATM with a pair of scissors and his fists. Apparently the machine had eaten his card.

43-year-old Louis Dotti caused $2,182 worth of damage and was charged with criminal mischief. This is his fifth arrest in Florida, which included a DUI.

He was being held on a $2,000 bail.

(Originally reported by the St. Petersburg Times)

MYSTERY MILEAGE

A New York City couple who had been on vacation in California returned to find out that their car had racked up 724 miles since they left.

When the couple started up the vehicle a CD was playing at top volume as well. The vehicle was parked in a long-term lot and the manager claims that nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

No other similar incidents were reported.

(Originally reported by the AP)

PESTER A PASTOR

A Shreveport, Louisiana pastor was jailed for nearly eight hours due to a case of mistaken identity.

Gregory Jones was pulled over for speeding and was subsequently arrested after the cop mistook him for a different man who was wanted for violating his parole. Jones not only had the same name as the wanted man, but the two also shared a birthday.

A photograph and fingerprint eventually proved Jones's claims that they had nabbed the wrong man.

(Originally reported by the AP)

INJURY FAKER

A Brooklyn, New York woman was arrested after she faked an injury that she claimed was caused by a falling light pole.

23-year-old Sherin Brown was caught on tape during the incident -- when a wayward truck hit the light pole and knocked it over -- and cops concluded that the pole missed her completely.

Brown was charged with falsely reporting an emergency.

(Originally reported by UPI)

SNAKES IN A BOX

The power in a Poughkeepsie, New York,hospital was taken out for 10 hours after a garden snake got stuck inthe switch box that controlled the building's main electrical supply.

Workers discovered the slithering culprit dead in the box around 3 p.m. and couldn't get things working again until 1 a.m. the next morning. There were some emergency cases that had to be diverted to other hospitals.

No patients suffered any disruptions do to the outage.

(Originally reported by the AP)

CAMERA DROP

A camera that was mounted to a Columbus, Ohio, police helicopter snapped off mid-flight and struck at least three different vehicles below.

The $100,000 infrared camera somehowbecame dislodged from the chopper and was subsequently ruined when itsmashed into the cars, causing massive damage to one of them.

The helicopter was being used in the search for a missing woman.

(Originally reported by the AP)

BIKER BBQ

A Melbourne, Australia, man was fined $700 after cops busted him riding his motorcycle with a barbecue strapped to his body.

The 29-year-old was charged with carelessdriving, though he told the cops that he only reason he had the barbecuewas because he found it on the side of the road and wanted to bring ithome.

His license was also revoked for a month.

(Originally reported by UPI)

I'M NOT DEAD YET!

A man in Houston, Texas,was finally able to convince the Department of Veterans Affairs that hewas alive after he threatened to take his story to the media.

39-year-old John Paul Scott -- who hadbeen receiving disability benefits from the military after being injuredin the Army during the Gulf War -- was accidentally listed as deceasedin the Veterans Affairs computer system.

He lost out on $2,000 during the time he was supposedly dead.

(Originally reported by UPI)

UTS LIKE A KNIFE

A St. Petersburg, Florida, woman was arrested after she stabbed a man because he wouldn't accept her romantic advances.

50-year-old Denise Vanistella Williams began hitting on a male acquaintance outside of a local liquor store and when he rebuffed her, she gave him a 6- inch cut on his left arm with a pair of blue-handled scissors.

She's being held on $10,000 bail.

(Originally reported by the St. Petersburg Times)

DON'T PUNCH A POLICE HORSE IN THE MOUTH

A Saratoga Springs, New York, man was arrested after he punched a police horse.

37-year-old Jamison Johnson had just been kicked out of a local bar for arguing with employees and patrons when he turned his rage on his arresting officer and his trusty steed. He hit the horse, named Jupiter, with a closed fist but did not leave any marks.

He was sentenced to two months in the clink and fined $200 in court surcharges.

(Originally reported by TimesUnion.com)

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

Police in Salt Lake City, Utah, arrested a man for shooting up his company's computer server.

23-year-old Joshua Lee Campbell, who was apparently drunk at the time, allegedly pulled out his .45 caliber handgun and opened fire on the $100,000 server. He then called the cops and told them that someone else had stolen his gun and done the shooting.

Apparently acquaintances of Campbell told police he been talking earlier in the evening about wanting to destroy the machine. He faces multiple charges, including lying to police.

(Originally reported by UPI)

iPOLICE

A Dallas, Texas, couple who were visiting relatives in Connecticut were able to thwart a burglary in their home by using a $4.99 iPhone application.

iCam, an application that connects web cams to your iPhone, alerted Vincent Hunter via text message that there was movement in his house in Texas. He was able to see the burglars outside of his home and the subsequent smashing of one of his windows.

The cops were called but were unable to snag the culprits, who are still at large.

(Originally reported by the Dallas Morning News)

TRAINING DAY DOH

A Cocoa, Florida, woman was hospitalized after her husband accidentally shot her during a training exercise they use to fend off burglars.

77-year old Arnold Morris discharged his small caliber handgun into his 72-year-old wife Patricia's chest. She was airlifted to a local hospital where she is expected to recover.

The couple has been married for 54 years.

(Originally reported by ClickOrlando.com)

HOUSE WARMING?

A deceased police chief left quite the gift for the couple that moved into his vacated home -- a fake bomb.

The house in Millinocket, Maine, had been empty for years until the new owners moved in over the weekend and discovered the fake explosive. They called the police and the neighborhood was evacuated for four hours.

The late police chief -- Wayne Scarano -- died in 2007.

(Originally reported by the AP)

SPY TEENS

A pair of Stockholm, Sweden, teenagers were fined $270 each after they attempted to listen in on their teachers while they discussed grades. The would-be spies used bugging equipment in the espionage attempt.

They managed to find a key to the staff common room in their middle school and planted the devices around the room.

They were busted when one of the teen girls outlined the devious plan on Facebook.

(Originally reported by UPI)

QUEENS CROC

Police in New York came across a strange urban animal underneath a car in Queens -- a 2-foot-long crocodile.

Police spokesman James Duffy informed reporters that they have yet to find out where the reptile came from, though they are generally sure that it wasn't from the sewer.

The animal was turned over to Animal Control officers and will eventually be taken to a wildlife sanctuary.

(Originally reported by UPI)

100-MILE JOYRIDE

A 12-year-old boy in Damascus, Oregon, took his family pickup truck on a joyride that ended in Lewis County, Washington -- nearly 100 miles away from his home.

The boy was only supposed to take the vehicle down to the end of his driveway, but instead decided to do his own exploring.He was pulled over without issue.

Cops in LewisCounty are still deciding on whether or not to prosecute the boy on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving without a license.

(Originally reported by the AP)

THINK AGAIN

A 65-year-old gas station clerk in Vermilion, Ohio, managed to thwart an armed robbery when she refused to give the culprit any money.

The would-be robber -- shocked at having the woman call his bluff -- apologized, thanked the clerk and made a run for it.He later tried to rob another gas station down the road.

The unnamed clerk told reporters that she knows what she did was stupid, but she jokingly blamed her big mouth ... and her red hair. "I'm a natural red head and I did what my instinct told me to," she said.

(Originally reported by the Morning Journal)

BOMBED BRIDE

A 31-year-old Bellevue, Washington, bride-to-be was arrested after cops nailed her for driving drunk while she was on her way home from her very own bachelorette party, mere hours before her wedding.

She was nabbed at 6 a.m. -- her ceremony was in the afternoon later that day.She told her arresting officer that she had been busted for drunk driving once before.

She was released and given a taxi so that she could attend her wedding.

(Originally reported by the Seattle Times)

OLD TIMEY TATTOO

A 101-year-old Spring Hill, Florida woman has gotten her third tattoo in as many years. This one went on her left arm.

Mimi Rosenthal got her first tattoo -- a butterfly --when she was 99 and her second -- a flower on her leg -- when she was 100. This time it was a sunflower.

Her tattoo artist claims that it's quite a challenge to do his work on Mimi, as her skin is so fragile.

(Originally reported by UPI)

PARKING LOT MAN

A Pennsylvania man who was sleeping in a Lorain, Ohio alley was accidentally run over and subsequently parked on.

24-year-old Robert Biggenow, who was intoxicated and naked, woke up when the car ran over him and trapped him underneath it. Firefighters were called in and were able to lift the vehicle in order to free Biggenow.

He suffered a collapsed lung and a lacerated liver, but was listed as being in good condition at a local hospital.

(Originally reported by the Morning Journal)

PIGGIN' OUT

A Great Falls, Montana pig wrestling competition was canceled after county fair officials failed to be able to round up the swine.

The wild pigs used in the competition spend the year on a 10-mile free-range property. About 30 pigs are usually used, but this year only one boar was rounded up.

Organizers promise that next year a different strategy will be used.

(Originally reported by the AP)

UNMASKED MAN

An Eden, New York robbery suspect forgot to wear a mask during a bank robbery. The man had a dust mask around his neck but neglected to raise it to his face.

The surveillance video shows the man handing over a note to the teller, taking a cell phone call and then quickly running out of the bank. Cops assume that his get-away driver called him to alert him to his faux pas.

(Originally reported by the AP)