Criminals Without Manners

The Miami Herald informs us this day that a serial burglar's habit of dipping and spitting has tied him to a string of burglaries in the Tahlequah, Oklahoma area. It seems that Stilwell, Oklahoma chief of police Chad Smith was investigating a burglary of an insurance office noticed a gob of tobacco spit on papers. 

He also knew that none of the women who worked there indulged, even though that took some sleuthing in that part of the world, cowgirls being cowgirls.

A DNA sample was sent off to the lab and it piqued the interest of investigators who were interested in one Randy Lee Shoopman Jr.  A warrant was obtained for a DNA sample and there was your soon to be extradited from California perpetrator.

The moral of the story is twofold. Spitting is a bad habit and criminals are stupid.

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

State v. Jorgensen, no. 07-0296 (Iowa Dec. 19, 2008)

A loss prevention officer at Shopko in Mason City observed Jorgensen on closed circuit TV wandering through the store fondling himself and ultimately exposing himself to an unknown woman in a display of self gratification. Jorgensen was convicted of indecent exposure and appealed. 

Jorgensen argued that he had not committed indecent exposure because there was no evidence that he had purposefully exposed himself to the horrified store employees.

In deciding the issue, the Iowa Supreme Court noted that nothing in the statute limited the crime of indecent exposure to acts targeted at a particular person, nor that the offender be aware or have knowledge of the specific person he happens to offend.

Long Time Coming

It appears that the people of the State of Nevada have decided that the felon formerly known as O.J. Simpson will be spending at least nine years as a guest of the state in one of their fine correctional institutions.

Simpson said the following at sentencing: 

In no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anyone. I didn't want anybody else's stuff. I just wanted my own. I realize that I was stupid. I am sorry. I didn’t know that I was doing anything illegal. I thought I was retrieving property from friends. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for all of it.

Are you starting to see a pattern?

Parenthetically, this may be the best chance that Fred Goldman has of collecting any money out of Simpson's prison paycheck.