Pennsylvania Pair Accused of Exploiting $175G Banking ErrorPolice say a northeastern Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania couple did not call the bank when a $1,772.50 deposit showed up in their account as $177,250.
Authorities say 50-year-old Randy Pratt and 36-year-old Melissa Marie Pratt of Bloomsburg took out all the money, quit their jobs and moved to Florida.
The two were arraigned Tuesday and jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail. District Judge Donna Coombe says a public defender and a conflicts lawyer are being assigned.
The pair, now legally separated, faces felony theft charges, counts of receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy to commit theft,
Melissa Pratt said her husband often got large checks and she wasn't aware of any banking error. However,
police said Randy Pratt was employed as a metal roofing installer and only earned about $3,800 as a roofer all last year.
Police say Melissa Pratt deposited the check at FNB Bank last summer. When the big balance showed up investigators say the two wrote checks to another account, bought a new vehicle and were buying a house in the Orlando area when the mistake was traced.
It was reported that the couple managed to spend all but about $50,000 of the money.
.Bikini-waxed Criminal Sentenced
A woman who refused to pay for a bikini wax has walked free from court.
Erin Ferguson, 20, admitted making off without payment for the £41 service at Essential Beauty in High Street.
But afterwards claimed she had left her purse in her car and could not pay the bill.
Gabby Henty, prosecuting, said: "She said she would go and get the money and ran out of the salon. There was no suggestion she was not satisfied with the treatment."
Ferguson, who had booked the treatment with a false name and address,
left her handbag behind and the salon owner found details of her real name in the bag.
She had been a previous customer and the salon had a record of her address.
Ms Henty said when she was interviewed by police Ferguson said she was not satisfied with the treatment and made it clear to the owner she would not pay.
But the prosecution did not accept Ferguson's claim she had complained.
.Man shot twice in year outside same pizza place
He's expected to survive second shooting in front of Mass. restaurant
A 26-year-old Worcester man may want to avoid a certain pizza place — after he was shot in front of the restaurant twice in less than a year.
Police said the man, whose name was not immediately released, is expected to survive three gunshot wounds he suffered in front of the Golden Pizza on Tuesday, after surviving another shooting there in April.
Detective Capt. Edward McGinn said the man had just gotten a haircut at a barber shop Tuesday when he went across the street and
got into a skirmish with a person in front of Golden Pizza. McGinn said the man was hospitalized after being shot in the legs and abdomen. The shooter fled.
In the April 13 incident, police said three people were arrested after the same man was shot multiple times.
.Thief Caught After Stealing Sheriff's Office CarA car thief made a bad choice when he picked a car to steal in Ocala. He went up to the sheriff's office building and stole a Citizen on Patrol car marked with sheriff's office logos, but the thief was caught across state lines in Georgia.
Deputies said the thief not only stole a car with a sheriff's logo on it and flashing lights, he repeatedly used the cell phone inside and that's how they were able to catch him.
Stolen cars are nothing new to Lt. Dennis McFatten, but this was definitely different.
"First thing I thought of was, wow," he said.
This time, the sheriff's office was the victim.
Police in Hahira, Georgia, 150 miles away, spotted the stolen sheriff's car and found Bolduan in a truck stop parking lot listening to music.
Deputies knew roughly where he was, because he repeatedly used the patrol car's cell phone.
"He was calm, not violent or anything, just said he was trying to get home to Minnesota," McFatten said.
The sheriff's office said it will change the way it stores the key so that the vehicles don't get into the wrong hands again.
.Robber mistaking water office for bank
A would-be armed robber left empty-handed Tuesday after realizing that his intended target was no longer a bank but the office of a local water district.
About 1 p.m. Tuesday, a man entered the office of the Jessamine South Elkhorn Water District at 802 South Main Street — formerly a branch of Farmers Bank — showed a revolver and demanded money, Nicholasville police spokesman Scott Harvey said.
Harvey said an employee told the man, "We really don't have any money."
Harvey said the robber responded:
"I know you have money. It's a bank."
But he was told, "No, sir, it's not a bank anymore."
"He looked around, realized it wasn't, and he left with nothing," Harvey said.
.Perks of a fast food joint
A man was served hot chips at a Territory eatery wearing nothing but his birthday suit.
The late night reveler stripped bare before putting in his order at the Darwin City 24-Hour Eatery on Smith St early on Monday.
A witness said the naked man walked into the shop to order two buckets of chips with gravy.
And the female attendant was reportedly only too happy to serve the nude customer.
Steven Bastick, 23, watched the naked act when he walked past the eatery.
He said he "bumped into" two men standing in front of the shop.
"I was just walking home when I saw the two guys," he said. "They were talking about doing a Jack Ass thing.
"They were really drunk and asked me to take photos."
One of the men soon bared all before entering the premises.
His companion stayed outside because he was allegedly "too embarrassed".
Mr Bastick said he was surprised when the naked customer did not receive much resistance from the woman behind the counter.
"The lady was just smiling," he said.
"It didn't bother her at all..
