Dateline: EnglandThe first screening of the Biblically inspired film Noah had to be canceled at the Vue cinema in Exeter due to flooding. “We can confirm that there was flooding at Vue Exeter on Friday April 4th due to a fault with an ice machine,” a spokesperson for the theater told the Exeter Express & Echo newspaper. The 12:15pm screening of the Russell Crowe film was canceled as a result. “The scale of the water may not have been as biblical as it was on the screen—and it is unclear if any animals had to be rescued from the confines of the cinema,” wrote the Express & Echo. Plumbers managed to fix the burst pipe, and the theater reopened at 2pm. Dateline: SingaporeA Chinese man named Bai Ting was charged with … well, biting a police officer after he was arrested for being drunk in public. Singapore’s Today newspaper says Bai Ting, a 28-year-old Chinese national, was found drunk at about 7pm on Sunday, April 6. He was taken to the lockup at Bedok Police Division Headquarters where he allegedly bit Sgt. Ng Wen Chi on the right forearm. For being drunk in public, he faces at fine of up to $1,000 and one month in jail. For biting the police officer, Bai Ting could be jailed for up to seven years and caned.Dateline: OregonRoss McMakin, 21, of Corvallis, Ore., was arrested for driving under the influence while wearing a totally unironic t-shirt reading “Drunk As Shit.” On the night of Sunday, April 6, McMakin allegedly drove his car onto a sidewalk, hit a parked car, then attempted to strangle his girlfriend because she tried to take his keys away. McMakin told police he was driving because his girlfriend, who was presumably not intoxicated, did not know how to drive a stick shift. McMakin was charged with drunk driving, reckless endangerment, harassment and strangulation. McMakin’s booking photo from Benton County Jail shows the motorist smiling while proudly sporting his “Drunk As Shit” shirt.Dateline: New HampshireThis week’s criminal tip is a handy one: If you steal someone’s computer, don’t bother calling tech support to help you unlock it. Police in Dover say Casey Wentworth, 24, has been arrested and charged in connection with a residential burglary. The computer, belonging to Dover resident Mike Witonis, disappeared in a burglary in February of 2013. At the time, police had no leads. The computer’s owner recently received an email from Apple, however, thanking him for calling customer service. Witonis told police he hadn’t contacted the company. “It took us a while to track down the individual who made the phone call,” Lt. Brant Dolleman told WMUR News. “But we were able to put that together and ultimately come up with enough evidence to charge him with the original burglary and recover the computer.” Witonis was shocked to get his computer back after more than a year. “I guess luck was on our side that the guy who took it didn’t try to get rid of it, which was sort of strange,” said Witonis. “Then, all of a sudden, he decides in his infinite wisdom, ‘Well, I’ll just call Apple and see if they can help me unlock this thing.’” Wentworth is scheduled to be arraigned on May 2.Dateline: WashingtonGood news, prospective brides and grooms: A sewage treatment plant near Seattle is now advertising that it’s available for weddings. The Facebook page for the Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Center says the facility has “a full catering kitchen, state-of-the-art AV equipment, dance floor, ample parking, beautiful outdoor grounds, and room for up to 260 people.” Weddings and receptions would take place at the Brightwater Center, just steps away from where the raw sewage is processed. The facility director, Susan Tallarico, told KIRO-TV that there is no unpleasant smell because the processing is contained. “We’ve never really had people who were super turned off,” said Tallarico. The treatment center was completed in 2001, but has only been available for rent for a few months. It goes for the bargain price of $2,000 for eight hours. Tallarico says there have already been several calls about availability. “It always comes down to price. A lot of the other venues in this area are basically wineries.”
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
