Bizarre News - December 31, 2014

Greetings fellow Bizarros:

If you can't fan the flames of love with your Facebook crush, you might as well fan the flames of a house fire. At least that seemed to be the logic of a man indicted on arson and burglary charges for allegedly set fire to a Kentucky woman's home after she rejected his advances on Facebook.

Police say the "disturbing" reason that James Graham, 37, broke into a 22-year-old single mother's home and set it on fire is because she rebuffed several uncomfortable comments he posted to her Facebook wall.

Investigators say Graham set Joanie Yount's home on fire in November, although she and her 3-year-old son were not home at the time.

Yount says she and Graham were only acquaintances but he was demanding something more and pursuing her through social media.

"He was writing on all my pictures talking about how beautiful I am and let him take me out. I had actually told him to stay off of my Facebook, so he may have gotten offended over that," says Yount, adding that she asked Graham to leave her alone after a series of posts that made her uncomfortable.

Although police collected evidence that led them to Graham, Yount says he wasn't hiding the alleged crime from anyone.

"He was walking around bragging about it and saying he wouldn't have to pay the price," she said.

And it is for this very reason that I don't use my real name on my Facebook account. A well-known and beloved semi-public figure like me would make a quick target for some 'fatal attraction' type. I'd like to see a stalker connect me with my pseudonym, Rusty Loudwater.

Bizarrely,
Lewis

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*-- Man returns stolen tablet when he couldn't make it work --*
WHITLEY BAY, England (UPI) - A man who admitted stealing a tablet computer from a charity store and returning it eight days later because he couldn't get it to work was fined. Christopher Hooson, 33, was recorded by CCTV cameras taking the Android tablet from the window display at the Jonny Kennedy store in Whitley Bay, England. Store workers recognized him from the footage when he came back eight days later to return the tablet, which prosecutors said he was unable to work because he did not have the necessary "equipment." Prosecutor Lynne Russell said the tablet taken during the Nov. 11 theft was valued at about $78. "He was taken to the police station. He admitted taking the item. He said he saw it in the window and thought it would be cheap or free, as it was in a charity shop, so took it," Russell said. "He took it and realized it didn't work without further equipment, so returned it to the shop." Hooson initially told the court the theft was an accident. "I didn't intend to steal it. I forgot I had it in my bag, so I returned it when I noticed." Hooson, who admitted his version of events "sounds ridiculous," eventually admitted during questioning by District Judge Bernard Begley that his story was not true. "It's not very nice to steal from a charity shop. At least some sense eventually returned to you and you returned the item. However, it is a particularly mean offense," Begley said. Hooson was fined $117. He was also ordered to pay $132 in court costs and a $31 victim surcharge.


*-- Woman arrested in Boston for throwing raw meat at police station --*
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (UPI) - In an explosive fit of symbolism, a woman in Boston bombarded a local police precinct with uncooked breakfast meats -- bacon and pork sausage. Before serving her unwelcome meal -- disguised inside a Dunkin' Donuts box -- the woman approached an officer at a teller window offered loudly to "feed the pigs." The woman, Lindsey McNamara, subsequently smeared several of the bacon slices and sausage links on the window, tossing the others onto the counter. Her assault on the William H. Welch Way police station, in Framingham, Massachusetts, was short-lived; she was arrested shortly after 11:00 a.m. She faces charges of disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property. Lieutenant Harry Wareham said it isn't clear what her motivation was, but feelings of ill-will towards the police have been growing after a series of incidents involving the deaths of unarmed African American males at the hands of police. "There's a lot of unrest regarding law enforcement, and I don't know if [this] is related or not," Wareham told Boston.com. "There's probably a lot more productive ways to voice her displeasure with police." McNamara later claimed to be religiously motivated. "God told me to go over there and feed the pigs," she said during her first court appearance.

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