Dateline: ScotlandTwo men won first prize at a Halloween costume contest sponsored by their neighborhood pub, but ended up losing because they were previously banned from the business. Kieran Pierce, 19, and James Jack, 20, had both been expelled from Lourenzos in the town of Dunfermline for past behavior. But the boys used Halloween as a ruse to sneak back in. The two disguised themselves as Jack and Victor, two characters from the popular Scottish sitcom “Still Game.” The plan worked, and bouncers at the nightclub didn’t recognize them. The costumes were so good, in fact, that Pierce and Jack won first prize in the night’s costume contest, claiming free admission to Lourenzos for a year. Unfortunately, the two posted their winning pictures to Facebook. It was then that bosses at the nightclub finally recognized them. A subsequent message on Lourenzos Facebook page stripped the boys of their victory, saying, “Unfortunately, with regret, we have had to disqualify the people’s first choice, Jack and Victor, due to their adverse behavior.” Pierce was apparently ejected from the club at last year’s Halloween shindig for getting into a fight while dressed as Batman. Club owner Craig Adamson may be waffling on the lifetime exile, however, telling local press, “The two young lads have apologized and stuff, so we’re kind of reconsidering their ban.”Dateline: FloridaAn alleged shoplifter was arrested after he was caught in Port St. Lucie trying to stuff a chainsaw down his pants. Surveillance video from Treasure Coast Lawn Equipment clearly shows 28-year-old Anthony Ballard entering the hardware store on Oct. 28. Employees said the man asked for $1 worth of change. He then picked up a Stihl chainsaw valued at more than $600 and shoved it down the front of his pants, covering it with his t-shirt. Ballard then left the store and fled on a bicycle. He soon ditched the saw in a nearby wooded lot. The saw was recovered, but police couldn’t find Ballard. About 40 minutes later, Treasure Coast Lawn Equipment called 911, saying the accused chainsaw thief had returned to the woods looking for the saw. According to tcpalm.com Ballard told police he had a change of heart and “decided to go get the saw and return it to the store.” He was arrested on a charge of grand theft.Dateline: ArkansasA 19-year-old from Jonesboro, Ark., won’t be getting his driver’s license any time soon. The Jonesboro Sun reports that police arrested Damontay Wright after he drove to a state road test without a license and then led officers car chase. The teen showed up by himself at the Arkansas State Police facility in Jonesboro on Wednesday, Nov. 12. When he told the driver’s license examiner he drove himself there—without a license, of course—the examiner told officers. That caused Wright to leave the building and flee in his vehicle. Police say the teen struck a patrol car in his haste to leave the facility, causing about $6,500 worth of damages. A brief police chase ensued, ending when the suspect crashed into a house, plowed through the wall and caused $20,000 in damages. Wright was arrested and taken to Craighead County Detention Center.Dateline: CaliforniaA man was pepper-sprayed in the face for asking a woman to turn off her cell phone during a movie. The unnamed man was attending a screening of Mr. Turner, a historical biopic about British landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, at the TLC Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles when witnesses day he politely and repeatedly asked a woman in the row in front of him if she would stop using her phone. The woman refused to respond, and the man tapped her on the shoulder, at which point she “flipped out.” A witness told mashable.com, “She stands up and starts cursing, saying ‘You hit me. You hit me. I’m going to call the police.’” The woman then turned her phone’s flashlight on and shined it directly into the man’s face. At that point people around the woman started telling her to shut the light off. The woman then reached into her purse, pulled out a container of chemical mace and sprayed the man directly in the face. No longer able to see, the man and his female companion left the theater. The woman with the cell phone and the mace continued to watch the movie for another 20 minutes, at which point theater security showed up and escorted her out. Witnesses said she did not put up a fight.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
