Dateline: EnglandAccording to the UK’s Independent newspaper, a British woman attempted to sue her former lawyers for professional negligence, claiming they failed to advise her that divorcing her husband would inevitably cause her marriage to end. Jane Mulcahy had argued that the lawyers at two different solicitor firms she hired should have made it clear that finalizing divorce proceedings would cause her marriage to be terminated. According to her, the lawyers failed to regard her Roman Catholic faith and should have recommended judicial separation as an alternative course of action. Mulcahy’s case had already been rejected by the court, but she made an appeal against the dismissal. That appeal was rejected last month.Dateline: ConnecticutPolice in Hartford County are trying to determine the identity of a man who broke into a convenience store and stole a single banana. Authorities were alerted to the bizarre crime when a burglar alarm went off at a Citgo gas station in Newington around 1:50am on the morning of Jan. 9. Responding officers noticed extensive damage to the building’s front doors but couldn’t find anything else amiss. They reviewed surveillance video, which showed a light-colored Ford Freestyle station wagon with Connecticut registration plates backing into the doors several times and shattering the glass. The car’s driver got out of the vehicle, went into the store and took a banana from a shelf. He peeled it, ate the fruit and then left the store. He was not wearing a mask and did not try to hide his identity. Nothing else was touched. The as-yet-unidentified banana bandit fled in the station wagon.Dateline: KentuckyA man escaped from prison earlier this month, but the recent cold snap had him rethinking his decision. Authorities say 42-year-old Robert Vick escaped from a minimum security facility in Lexington on Sunday, Jan. 5. Apparently Vick’s prison issue khaki pants, shirt and jacket just weren’t up to the cold temperatures, however. Wind chill factors in Lexington dropped as low as 20 below last week. Officials say Vick walked into a motel on Monday, the day after his great escape, and asked the clerk to call police. “This was definitely of his own volition,” Lexington Police spokesperson Sherelle Roberts told reporters. “It’s cold out there, too cold to run around. I can understand why the suspect would turn himself in.” Vick was checked out by paramedics and returned to Blackburn Correctional Complex where he is serving a six-year sentence for burglary and criminal possession of a forged instrument.Dateline: KentuckyState Rep. Leslie Combs accidentally fired off a shot inside the Kentucky State Capitol, later telling reporters, “I’m a gun owner. It happens.” Combs has a concealed carry permit for the Ruger 380 semi-automatic handgun, which makes it legal for her to bring the loaded weapon into the Capitol. “I was purposely disarming it to put it up,” Combs said. “I had it in my purse I usually carry, and I thought, ‘I’m going to put that sucker away.’” Combs was in her office at the time of the accident talking to fellow Rep. Jeff Greer. No one was injured. No charges will be filed in the incident, although State Rep. Mary Lou Marzian said she’s now reconsidering legislation to prohibit guns in public buildings. “I think we really need to look at whether or not we’re going to allow guns around here. I tried to prohibit them several years ago, and it did not meet with success.” Asked if she would reconsider carrying a gun, Combs said, “As a female—particularly for protection rights—I feel the need to carry a firearm.”Dateline: CaliforniaA bank robbery was foiled because none of the tellers could read the would-be criminal’s robbery note. Investigators say Jamal Garrett, 29, handed a note demanding cash to a teller at the Wells Fargo bank in Antioch around 9:45am on Monday, Jan. 6. According to the San Ramon Express, the teller had difficulty reading the handwriting and called over a manager to help. The suspect apparently left through the back door of the bank while the teller and manager were puzzling over the contents of the note. The bank workers eventually figured out it was a robbery note. Police later received a report of a suspicious man at Somersville Towne Center. Officers determined the man matched the description of the suspect from the bank. Witnesses identified Garrett, and he was arrested on a charge of attempted bank robbery and an outstanding warrant for parole violations.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
