The Odd Truth, July 24, 2003
The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.
Cat, Burglar
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - A cat burglar's booty is being hoarded in a Ventura County home.
A marauding feline named Midnight — now dubbed Klepto Cat — has been sneaking off in the dark to raid neighbor's homes, garages, sheds and patios, bringing home shoes, hats, shirts, socks and even a wrapped Christmas present.
It's stressful for pet owners Richard and Sue Boyd.
"We get so embarrassed by this," Sue Boyd said. "We wake up in the morning and go out and there's stuff under the truck. The cat leaves things all over. We don't want these things."
"He's a klepto cat," her husband said.
Each day, Midnight's owners leave a bag with the purloined goods hanging from their mailbox so neighbors can reclaim missing items.
It is unclear why Midnight prefers wearables.
Gary Sampson, an Indianapolis-based veterinarian who specializes in cat behavior, said the 13-year-old cat is probably drawn to body odors.
"He's obviously a hunter," Sampson said. "He's doing this at night. This is when they can get prey. It's just an extension of that."
Police Sgt. Paul Fitzpatrick said there isn't anything the police could do about Midnight's crimes, except refer the complaint to animal control.
Career Criminal
FORT WORTH, Texas - A bank robber made the ultimate bad career move when he wrote a holdup note — on the back of his resume.
Police used the job-search information to identify the man, who was arrested and charged with robbing a Wells Fargo bank branch on Fort Worth's east side.
The man had tried to hide the personal information by taping black construction paper over it. But then he forgot to retrieve the note and take it with him after giving it to the teller.
Police then just peeled the tape from the note.
A tip led police to a Fort Worth motel, where the man was arrested Saturday. He remained in federal custody on a bank robbery charge in the July 15 holdup.
Juror Dozes During X-Rated Evidence
CINCINNATI - A sleepy juror and another who averted her eyes from the evidence led a judge to declare a mistrial in the case of a store owner charged with selling a pornographic video.
Shawn Jenkins, owner of Tip Top Magazines, went on trial Monday on obscenity charges. He was arrested after sheriff's officials bought a copy of "Maximum Hardcore Extreme, Vol. 7" for $15 at his Cincinnati store.
Defense attorney Louis Sirkin complained that when the jury watched the 90-minute video on Tuesday, a male juror dozed off and a female juror turned away several times.
The judge declared a mistrial.
Prosecutor Bud Greenberg said he understood why the juror would turn her head: "This video is so disgusting that that is the natural" reaction.
Jenkins could get up to a year in jail if convicted.
India's Elephants Get Rump Reflectors
NEW DELHI - Elephant minders in India's capital have begun putting reflectors on the animals' backsides at night do stop them being rear-ended by motorists who can't see them.
Two reflectors — about five inches in diameter — are attached to a saddle rope under an elephant's tail and hang down on either thigh, N.V.K Ashraf of the Wildlife Trust of India said Thursday.
The 30 elephants used for commercial work in New Delhi, such as clearing felled trees, work the night shift, starting at 10 p.m., to keep them from disrupting traffic. But that leads to accidents because the elephants have dark skin and drivers can't see them on the capital's often dimly lit streets.
Three traffic accidents involving four elephants have occurred in the past two years, Ashraf said.
Ten elephants began wearing the reflectors on Sunday night and the rest will have them within 10 days, he said.
The elephants in New Delhi face crowded streets, polluted air, baking heat in the summer and near freezing temperatures in the winter. Many suffer from nutritional deficiencies and improper management, the Wildlife Trust said in a report on its Internet site.
Vietnam Vet Admits Internet Medal Fraud
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A Vietnam war hero has admitted buying a medal on the Internet and faking some paperwork so he could get himself a Distinguished Service Cross.
Bruce Cotta of Rhode Island agreed to perform 100 hours of community service and contribute $5,000 to the Army Emergency Relief Fund.
The cross is the Army's second-highest honor.
Cotta was decorated with several other authentic awards for his conduct as a medic in 1968. He was twice rejected by the Army for a Medal of Honor — the nation's highest military award.
After forging the documents, he submitted them along with the medal to Congressman Patrick Kennedy. The Rhode Island Democrat, thinking the package came through official channels, then awarded Cotta the medal at a ceremony in 2000.
Cotta said in a statement that his actions were inexcusable, and hopes they won't cast a shadow on the heroic actions of other Vietnam veterans.
Cheap, Obnoxious Grump Leaves Estate To Area Kids
MEDFORD, Oregon - Grumpy old man Wes Howard didn't hate kids so much, after all. The reclusive Medford, Oregon, millionaire is leaving his estate to build a sports park for area children. Long-time friend Shirley Brown can't believe it. She says he was an "obnoxious" old man who hated kids and would charge after them with a gun. Howard was also cheap. He used an outhouse rather than pay a plumber to install indoor plumbing. He died in March at age 87.
Up In Smoke
DUVALL, Wash. - Firefighters may have smelled something funky as they battled a 10-acre brush fire along a state highway east of Seattle.
While using heavy equipment to clear vegetation in the path of the 20-foot flames Monday afternoon, firefighters encountered about 90 six-foot marijuana plants that had been hidden in a blackberry bramble, Eastside Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Lee Soptich said.
The pot survived the flames, which were ignited by sparks from grinding equipment used by a state contractor's road crew, but about 60 of the plants were destroyed by a bulldozer as firefighters rooted out hot spots and the rest were seized as evidence, Soptich said.
"We're getting a big chuckle out of it," he said Tuesday. "Never have we had a brush fire end up identifying a pot grow."
Investigators were checking records to determine who owns the property, but most likely the marijuana was planted without the owner's knowledge, King County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Fagerstrom said.
"It was a discreet little spot where somebody started their own forest," Fagerstrom said. "Somebody obviously put a lot of time and effort into their care."
Policeman Or Patriot?
MIAMI - An appeals court Wednesday struck down a state law against civilians wearing police gear, citing in part the popularity of law enforcement attire worn "out of reverence" since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The decision came in the case of a motorcyclist caught speeding on a busy expressway in a T-shirt that read "Police" on the front and back.
"It has now become commonplace for many Americans to wear authentic-looking law enforcement T-shirts, caps and other paraphernalia merely out of reverence to the tragedy's heroes," Judge Robert Shevin wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel of the Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal. "There is the potential of penalizing purely innocent, protected conduct."
The appeals court indicated a law requiring proof of bad intent would be acceptable as opposed to the blanket ban. Florida has a separate law against impersonating an officer.
"It's an easy law to fix," said defense attorney Lisa Walsh, who represented the motorcyclist, Alberto Rodriguez.
Prosecutor Barbara Zappi, who argued the appeal, had no comment.
Rodriguez pointed to his shirt and mouthed, "Police" to pursuing officers during the 2001 chase, which reached 105 mph.
Walsh said she believes Rodriguez has already served his 2-and-a-half year sentence for aggravated fleeing, resisting arrest, reckless driving and wearing the T-shirt.