Short News

Convenience Store Clerk Turns Tables on Robber
Aug 9, 2007
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A robber's clumsy pursuit of cash left him staring at the barrel of his own shotgun after he set it on the convenience store counter and the clerk snatched it up, officials said.
A surveillance video captured the man in sunglasses and a hooded sweat shirt, stuffing money from the register into his pockets and leaving his gun unattended early Tuesday.
That's when Quail Street News clerk Hafiz Alam grabbed the weapon by the barrel, quickly turned it around and pointed it at the man, who dashed out.
Seconds later, the robber rushed back into the store and leaped over the counter. Alam and the suspect, 22-year-old Justin Walker, struggled over the gun off-camera, authorities said.
The gun went off, but neither man was injured.
The robber drove off, but not before a truck driver took down his license plate number.
Police said they tracked the suspect to an Albany apartment, where they launched tear gas inside and got him to surrender. He was arrested and charged with robbery.

Teen Burned, After Lighting Fire Near Gas
Aug 9, 2007
TWO RIVERS, Wis. (AP) - An 18-year-old man was severely burned Thursday after he lit a flame while trying to steal gasoline from a riding lawnmower. He and another 18-year-old man were in a Town of Two Rivers shed early Thursday, trying to extract the fuel from the mower.
At one point, they decided they needed more light, so one of them ignited burning materials, according to Manitowoc County Sheriff's Inspector Gregg Schetter. The gasoline then exploded, Schetter said.
One of the men was taken to a Milwaukee hospital with serious burns.
Authorities learned of the theft after responding to a 4 a.m. call Thursday of a shed on fire.
County sheriff's deputies and Two Rivers police officers eventually learned of the burned man and connected the clues, Schetter said.
The other man wasn't injured. He was being held in the Manitowoc County Jail, Schetter said.

YouTube Video Helps Catch Thief
Aug 10, 2007
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A thief was convicted and fined after being spotted on a video posted on the Web site YouTube.
The man was taped slowly circling the store, stealing a laptop computer, slipping the computer into his overcoat and stepping out of the store in the South Island town of Greymouth, local media reported Friday.
The whole performance was posted on YouTube - set to "The Pink Panther" music track - and attracted 500,000 hits from around the globe.
One viewer recognized the man and alerted police. Dawson Anthony Bliss, 50, was convicted of theft in Greymouth District Court on Thursday after pleading guilty.
Judge Gary MacAskill fined Bliss $1,485 and ordered him to pay $1,478 in reparation.
Greymouth on South Island's west coast is 234 miles south of the capital, Wellington.