news & blues

CURSES, FOILED AGAIN

A man buying a box of bullets at a gun store in Kansas City, Mo., handed $40 to the owner, who was ringing up the sale when the man pointed a gun at him and demanded money. The owner said he noticed the gun wasn’t loaded and pulled his own gun, chasing off the robber, who left behind the bullets and his $40. (Kansas City’s KMBC-TV) Two men entered a convenience store in La Mirada, Calif., picked up an 18-pack of beer and assorted snack items and ran out the door without paying. Four uniformed sheriff’s deputies standing inside the store drinking coffee chased after them and arrested Jacob Wallace, 29, and Robert Martin, 19. Los Angeles County sheriff’s Capt. Patrick Maxwell noted that the suspects also failed to notice the deputies’ two marked patrol cars parked outside the store before they entered. (San Gabriel Valley’s SGV Tribune)

FIREBUGGERY

A 52-year-old man told police in Lynnwood, Wash., that he set his motel room on fire because Satan was in there and he wanted to protect “the good people.” Officials at the Days Inn said the unidentified man, who’d been staying there for a month, repeatedly called employees the “anti-Christ” and “spawns of Satan.” (Everett’s The Herald) Authorities in Cook County, Ill., charged Johnell Walker, 28, with starting a fire that spread through his apartment building by lighting a coconut-sized “firecracker” or “type of bomb” during an argument with his girlfriend. Prosecutor Erin Antonietti said the blast left Walker’s 6-month-old daughter with severe brain injuries, and the fire forced many of Walker’s neighbors in the 26-unit building to jump out of their windows and porches to reach safety. (Chicago Sun-Times)

WHEN GUNS ARE OUTLAWED

Police in Dunbar Township, Pa., arrested Robert Eckhart, 42, and Stacie Moorman, 37, after the two assaulted each other with frying pans while arguing. (Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV) Police charged Howard Schultz, 69, with impersonating a law enforcement officer after he stood in the middle of a street in Pompano Beach. Fla., ordering motorists to pull over and waving a 10-inch barbecue fork at them. One motorist obeyed, according to the arrest report, telling Broward County sheriff’s deputies he feared for his life. (Miami’s WTVJ-TV)