The Odd Truth, March 28, 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.
Porky's Revenge
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A man accused of savagely stabbing a pet pig, then blurting out in drunkenness that he wanted pork chops, was convicted of felony cruelty to animals and sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Edwin "Louie" Deason, 44, injured the 50-pound Vietnamese potbellied pig so severely in the December incident that it had to be killed because one stab wound left it unable to walk.
Prosecutors said Deason made drunken, belligerent comments to sheriff's deputies. One deputy testified Deason was covered in blood and had pig feces all over him when he said, "I cut it, so what?"
Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Simpson said that even if slaughtering the pig for a meal, it was not being done quickly and painlessly. None of three stab wounds was near a major organ or across the neck, she said.
Deason's attorneys argued in the one-day trial on Tuesday that a neighbor, whom they repeatedly referred to as "Big Bad Bob," was the one who plunged a rusty knife into the pig. Deason later tried to sever the squealing pig's carotid artery to humanely put it out of its misery, but the blade was too dull, his attorneys maintained.
A jury spent over 2 hours deliberating before returning a guilty verdict. Deason said he would appeal.
Dying To Get Rich
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A bank robbery suspect learned a painful lesson - never shove stolen money containing an explosive dye pack down your pants.
Shortly after the National City Bank downtown was robbed Thursday, police spotted John Gladney, 40, about a block away, walking strangely, in obvious pain.
Officers stopped Gladney and discovered he had been injured when the dye pack exploded near his groin, said Sgt. Brent Mull, police spokesman.
Gladney was charged with aggravated robbery.
Man Asks For It, Gets It
FORREST CITY, Ark. - Donald Steven Atwood dangled a small bag filled with a green, leafy substance out the window of his car to get another driver's attention, but never guessed he was attracting unwanted scrutiny.
Atwood apparently couldn't see very well behind the tinted windows of the other car. Its driver turned out to be Forrest City police officer Ricky Baxter, dressed in his uniform on his way to work.
Baxter pulled Atwood over Sunday and summoned state police, who arrested Atwood on charges of driving while drug-intoxicated, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. He was released Tuesday on $5,000 bond, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said.
A state police report said Atwood, 20, of Riverside, Calif., pulled his 1994 Pontiac Firebird next to Baxter's car and started yelling out the window at him as he waved the baggie out the window.
When state police searched Atwood's car, the report said, they found not only the baggie in plain view on the passenger seat, but also drug paraphernalia, along with an aluminum can containing more marijuana and a small amount of crystal methamphetamine.
17-Day Test Drive
CARLSBAD, N.M. - It was a super-sized test drive. Police charge Marcus Brandon Bechtol took a '94 Oldsmobile for a test drive - and kept going, and going, and going. According to officers, Bechtol started at a dealership in Jackson, Tennessee, and was arrested 17 days and 900 miles later in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The car dealer usually requires a salesperson to go along for any test drives. But one investigator says Bechtol was a real smooth talker. He was arrested outside a Carlsbad church, after an officer noticed the Tennessee dealer plates.
U.S. Wins Control Of Long Lost Moon Rock
MIAMI - The United States is the proud new parent of an old moon rock.
A federal judge issued a verdict for the U.S. government in a fight against Florida businessman Alan Rosen for control of a disputed moon rock valued at up to $5 million.
"I couldn't see the judge coming out any other way," said Robert Pearlman, editor of a space collectibles Web site. "It would have been very interesting though if it had been awarded to Rosen. It would have set a precedent for private ownership of lunar material that doesn't exist as of right now."
The fingertip-size piece of lunar material was given to the Honduran government by President Nixon in 1973 but wound its way to Miami under conditions that are still unexplained.
Rosen lost the 3.5-billion-year-old rock when he showed it to undercover agents who set up a sting by placing an ad seeking moon rocks in 1998.
He claimed he bought the rock from a retired Honduran colonel for $50,000 after it disappeared from the presidential palace in the early 1990s.
The Justice Department insisted the rock was stolen and should be forfeited. U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan agreed.
The Honduran government has asked for the return of the rock, and it is now up to the U.S. government to decide what to do with it.
Since the legal fight started over Rosen's rock, Pearlman has tried to track down the 135 rocks given to foreign heads of state from the so-called "Mother Rock" dug up by the Apollo 17 crew on the last manned moon mission. He has found only 10 of them.
Romania auctioned its rock but the results can't be found, he said. Canada's rock got shunted to the back of a museum.
Spiderman Burglar Spins His Last Web
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - A burglar scaled the side of a high-rise building like Spiderman to steal jewelry, watches and cash from several upper floor apartments, police said.
Wilson Thomas, 21, was arrested on a 12th floor balcony of the Ocean Crest Club as he tried to escape, Hollywood police said. The name is likely an alias, police said.
Thomas had a watch and several bracelets worth more than $1,000 each when he was arrested Tuesday, police said. He also had two 8-inch knives used to break into patio doors, police said.
"He was scaling from balcony to balcony - no ropes," said Hollywood Police Lt. Tony Rode. "He did his Spiderman impersonation and was taking things he could keep in his pocket."
Thomas had worked on a painting crew on the seventh floor of the building during the last two weeks, police said. He is suspected of breaking into several apartments.
Another cat burglar known as "Spiderman" was convicted of burglary and grand theft in 1999. Derrick James, 36, jumped from balcony to balcony and climbed buildings using only his upper-body strength, which earned him the nickname. He is suspected of stealing $6 million in cash, jewelry and credit cards in more than 130 high-rise apartment burglaries throughout South Florida.
Police Shoot Police Dog
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A police dog was shot and killed Thursday when he bit three officers investigating a possible burglary.
The officers, whose names were not released, called for a dog to help them search a closed business where a burglar alarm had gone off about 4 a.m., police said. No burglar was found.
During the search, the dog left the building and attacked three officers guarding the perimeter. The officers were not seriously hurt.
Police would not say who shot the dog.
"They're not going to release that until they complete their investigation," said LaTanya Able, a police spokeswoman. "We can't go into detail. We're still investigating it."
The dog, named Bryan, had been with the Memphis police K-9 unit for four years. Police did not identify its breed.
Earlier this year, Cookeville police shot a dog owned by tourists from Saluda, N.C., who were mistakenly identified as suspects in a felony. The incident produced national news coverage, outrage from animal lovers, a state legislative inquiry and training for state troopers on how to deal with threatening dogs.
War On War
WAR, West Virginia - Folks in War are thinking about the war. War, West Virginia, is an old Appalachian mining town. It got the odd name from a battle between settlers and Indians in 1820. But it's the present day war that has the citizens of War talking. Shopkeeper Rita Stutso says war is bad anytime and she hopes it's over soon. Retired miner Roy Lowry thinks President Bush needs a secret weapon in the battle with Iraq. He suggests they send an "old mountain hillbilly" to Baghdad to - as Lowry puts it - "pop" Saddam.
Hookers Push For Mustang Ranch Museum
RENO, Nevada - Ex-madam Sharnel Silvey thinks the famed Mustang Ranch could still make money - but not the old fashioned way. The one-time hooker used to work at Nevada's first legal bordello. Now, she wants the Mustang Ranch to be converted into a museum and tourist attraction. The federal government owns the property, which was seized by the IRS. The feds plan to tear it down. But some of the ex-ladies of the evening met with officials to propose alternative ideas. Tia, another former hooker, says the place has a lot of history. She says she used to entertain everyone from politicians to pro-football players at the ranch.