Dateline: Pennsylvania— The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that a 21-year-old Uniontown man called police to report that the weed he had must purchased tasted “nasty.” Police were summoned to the man’s apartment at around 9:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20. The man told them that he had just bought a small amount of what he thought was marijuana. It did not, however, taste good, so he called police to come check it for him. They did. Using a field test kit, officers discovering that the green, leafy substance sitting on the man’s coffee table was not, in fact, marijuana. The man was not immediately arrested and police declined to release his name. Although he did not break a law by purchasing actual drugs, he could still be charged with possessing a counterfeit controlled substance. Dateline: Florida— A 16-year-old DeLand High School student was arrested for bringing a salad dressing bottle to a gun fight. The West Volusia Beacon reports police responded to an armed robbery call at the DeLand Citro Gas Station on the evening of Friday, Oct. 22. Ramilaben Patel, who co-owns the store along with her husband, was robbed of just over $450 cash by a young man in a hooded sweatshirt who claimed to have a gun. Less than two-and-a-half hours later, DeLand Police responded to a robbery-in-progress call at the nearby Friendly Way convenience store. At that store, a young man entered, plucked a bottle of salad dressing off a store shelf and approached the owner. The thief ordered owner Thameen Baker to give him money. Instead, Baker pulled out his personal firearm and pointed it at the bottle-wielding boy. According to Baker’s report to police, the robber responded by saying, “OK, I’ll get out.” Officers arrived as the teen was exiting the store. After his arrest, the unnamed teen also confessed to robbing the Citro store. The Beacon ’s account goes on to note that “police could not confirm what type of salad dressing the young man used.” Dateline: Florida— A 22-year-old mother has reportedly confessed to killing her baby because he interrupted her online game of FarmVille. At first, Alexandra Tobias of Jacksonville told police a dog knocked 14-week-old Dylan Lee Edmondson off the couch, causing the infant to hit his head. WJXT News 4 reports that Tobias later admitted to shaking her son because he would not stop crying while she was trying to play the farm simulation game FarmVille on Facebook. Prosecutors said they also have a statement from Lois Hay, a cellmate of Tobias’ who said she confessed to her. Tobias will be sentenced for second degree murder in December. Florida sentencing guidelines dictate a 25- to 50-year sentence for the plea. Dateline: Florida— Apparently, honesty isn’t always the best policy. Authorities in Broward County have arrested a man after he openly admitted to collecting child pornography during a job interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Sun Sentinel newspaper reports that 27-year-old Miramar resident Efe Moniedafe was arrested last month and charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography. Moniedafe told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials about his illegal collection during a routine polygraph test that all prospective employees must take. Moniedafe allegedly told investigators that collecting child porn was his “hobby” and that he found it “fun.” Unsurprisingly, Moniedafe did not land the job with U.S. Customs. Dateline: Colorado— Police believe a man who woke up with a bang accidentally shot himself while sleepwalking. According to the Boulder Daily Camera , 63-year-old Sanford Rothman told police he woke up around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26, to discover he had been shot in the left knee. He was unable to recall what had happened to him. Rothman was taken to Boulder Community Hospital, where he was treated and released. An investigation found no one else in the house at the time of the shooting. Police concluded that the self-inflicted wound was accidental and most likely occurred while Rothman was sleepwalking. According to the police report, Rothman keeps a 9 mm handgun near his bed and is currently taking prescription medication for pain. No alcohol or illegal drugs were found.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. E-mail your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
