Two 19-year-old Ulster County, New York men were led to jail Thursday in the same police cruiser they allegedly smashed up in January.

But the pair may never have been caught, New Paltz police said, if an upstate woman had not received some curious photos by accident.

She was expecting photos of her daughters in Halloween garb. She got photos of a felony instead, police said.

‘’It seems there was a mix-up in the processing lab,'’ New Paltz Detective David Dugatkin said.

Andre Fernandez of Kerhonkson and Joseph Ruggiero of Stone Ridge were each charged with second-degree criminal mischief, a class-D felony.

The photos allegedly show the two Ulster County Community College students smiling while in the act of causing $5000 worth of destruction to a police cruiser left at a local repair shop.

Feces were left in the car, police said, detailing a long list of damage that allegedly took place in the lot of Tom’s Repair Shop on South Putt Corners Road.

All the windows were broken, along with the car’s emergency lights, headlights and taillights. The roof was dented. The hood was pierced. Radio wires were cut. The sideview mirrors were removed.

Police said the woman, who manages the campus bookstore at the State University of New York at Oneonta, received the alleged evidence photos by accident.

‘’It seems it is just a coincidence that the photos ended up there,'’ Dugatkin said. ‘’The Konica Lab in Maine handles photos from hundreds of stores in the Northeast.'’

New Paltz police said they received the photos this week from SUNY Oneonta police. New Paltz patrol officers were then able to identify the suspects, Dugatkin said.

Dugatkin said the men confessed to being drunk at the time of the incident, but beyond that, ‘’they didn’t have a specific reason.'’

Arraigned Thursday afternoon by Town Justice Bartlett Wagner, the suspects were sent to Ulster County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail each. Both are scheduled to reappear in town court Monday.

‘’We’re very happy they got caught,'’ Tom Johnson, owner of the repair shop, said. ‘’What goes around comes around, sooner or later.'’

The damage was extensive, he said.

‘’They beat it up,'’ he said. ‘’There wasn’t a piece of glass left in it.'’

Both the detective and New Paltz Police Chief Ray Zappone said the suspects were transported in the restored cruiser because ‘’it just happened'’ to be available.

Town Supervisor Don Wilen recently authorized funding for leasing four new police vehicles next year, meaning the fleet will likely spend less time at Tom’s Repair.

He said he hopes community service might be part of any sentencing. Restitution would go mainly to the town’s insurance company, he pointed out.

‘’I trust in the process,'’ he said regarding Wagner’s proceedings.

Story courtesy of Gabriel J. Wasserman and the Poughkeepsie Journal

A man who escaped from police custody has been recaptured after ordering a taxi in his own name.

The prisoner was at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry after claiming he’d swallowed razor blades. He escaped from two police officers when handcuffs were removed to allow doctors to examine him.

Police searching the area were asked by a passing taxi driver what was happening and he told them he’d been hired to take a man with the same name to Birmingham.

Sgt Jim Kelly said: “The officers got into the back of the taxi and hid, and arrested the man in question when he got into the taxi.”

The Coventry Evening Telegraph says the prisoner has now been returned to police custody, where he will be questioned in connection with escape from lawful custody and the assaults of two police officers.

A German bank robber who forgot to cut open eye slits in his mask and lifted it up to demand money was convicted and sentenced to four years in jail, state prosecutors in Giessen said on Tuesday.

The robber, dubbed “Germany’s dumbest criminal” by Bild newspaper, had entered a bank in the western town with a burlap bag over his head. Bumping into bank customers on his way to the teller, he pulled out a plastic knife and a toy pistol.

He then lifted the front of his mask to look at the teller and demand money. The robber was told the safe couldn’t be opened and he fled. But he was easily identified from the security cameras behind the teller and soon arrested.

“He was a real amateur,” said Giessen police spokesman Gerald Frost. “He lifted the mask and looked straight into the camera. He was quickly identified and arrested a day later.”

Volker Kramer, spokesman for the Giessen state prosecutor’s office, said the robber was convicted of attempted robbery late on Monday and sentenced to four years in jail.

Lots of guys like to stop for a beer after finishing a job. But getting brew after a bank job isn’t such a good idea.

Police in Taunton, Massachusetts, say a bank robbery suspect had a brewski just two blocks away from the scene of the crime.

Detective Dennis Smith says the beer “did him in.”

The bar manager at an American Legion post told police that suspect Joaquim Grace was a regular customer. Witnesses said Grace ran into the American Legion had a quick beer and hailed a cab.

He was busted at his home, where detectives say they found some of the stolen loot.

MICHAEL JUNCKER walks to Eastern County Court for sentencing Thursday by Judge Robert Wynn in Eastern County Court.
Photo by Bill West, Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio)

JEFFERSON, Ohio - It is unusual when a school teacher gets detention, but that is what happened Thursday to a Geneva Area City School District teacher who has been in trouble for road rage.

Michael S. Juncker, 28, of Warren, was sentenced to two days in the Ashtabula County Jail, two years of supervised probation, 40 hours of community service and fined $300 plus $50 court costs for reckless operation of a motor vehicle, the second offense this year.

Juncker was originally charged with aggravated menacing but plea-bargained to a lesser charge of reckless operation of a motor vehicle, court records show.

The incidents occurred in January and February on Route 11, court records show.

“He followed many motorists and gave them obscene gestures,” said Jason Toth, assistant prosecuting attorney. “He scared many motorists.”

Ashtabula County Eastern County Court Judge Robert Wynn said he read the “extensive report,” which includes numerous reports from victims.

Wynn said he found it disturbing that Juncker was given an opportunity to mend his ways in October 2001, when he pleaded no contest in Ashtabula Municipal Court to disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine. Juncker was cited after a motorist complained about him making angry and obscene gestures.

“Let me make it perfectly clear: If there are any further charges, do not expect leniency in this court,” Wynn said sternly. “You will be looking at a lengthy jail term.”

Juncker’s attorney, Robert Buckley, said his client was “ready to accept responsibility.” Juncker recently completed a court-ordered mental health evaluation and is seeing a counselor, he said.

As part of Juncker’s probation, Wynn ordered him to continue counseling and continue with any medication. He warned him again that any violation of probation, including a minor traffic ticket, will land him in jail.

“I am sentencing you to two days in jail because two days in jail is significant for you,” Wynn said. “I want you to know what the inside of jail is like.”

After the sentencing, Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Sartini said he was satisfied with the resolution of the case.

Juncker’s most recent issues began Jan. 23 when a motorist claimed he harassed him on Route 11. He said he attempted to evade Juncker for 15 miles through New Lyme Township at speeds of up to 90 mph. The man said Juncker made angry threatening gestures on at least four other occasions.

Juncker travels Route 11 five days a week during his commute to Spencer Elementary School in Geneva.

Geneva Area City Schools Superintendent Ron Donatone said Thursday afternoon that Juncker is employed with the school district and declined further comment.

Story courtesy Ashtabula, Ohio Star Beacon and Shelly Terry, Staff Writer

PHOTOGRAPHS handed in to a city centre branch of Boots the chemist (pharmacy) sparked off a major drug seizure in the Capital.

Two addresses were raided after a photo lab assistant spotted what looked like cannabis plants in the background of some of the pictures and alerted the police.

As a result of the raids, a total of five people have been arrested and charged with drugs offences and more than £15,500 worth of drugs recovered.

The first raid on a home in the city centre resulted in a small amount of drugs being recovered and three people being arrested and charged. Further inquiries then resulted in a raid on a home in Leith , where police seized more than £15,500 worth of drugs including cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and 1500 Ecstasy tablets.

A substantial amount of money was also discovered during the second

search. The raids were sparked off after a man handed in a roll of film to be developed at Boots on October 31. It is understood the developing assistant was checking the pictures for any errors in processing when he spotted what he believed to be cannabis plants in the background of some of the pictures.

He alerted store bosses, who called in the police. Officers then visited a home in the city centre and, after further inquiries, search warrants were issued.

Three teenagers were arrested and, as a result of further police inquires, police swooped on a home in Leith.

A police source today said: “Staff at Boots couldn’t believe it when these pictures were handed in quite blatantly showing the plants in the background.”

The source said it had been “thoughtless” to have pictures taken with plants clearly on show. He said: “It was a dumb thing to do. ”

The source praised the vigilance of the Boots staff who noticed the plants in the photos, and said: “If the staff had not checked the pictures so thoroughly, we would not have made the drug recoveries.”

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: “As a result of a search at a home in the city centre small amounts of herbal cannabis, cocaine and Ecstasy were recovered. Two youths aged 16 and a 17-year-old teenager were arrested and charged with drugs offences and a report submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

The spokesman added: “Following on from the search in the city centre, officers carried out a further search at a home in the Leith area and as a result over £15,500 worth of drugs were recovered.

“A 22-year-old man and a 18-year-old woman were arrested and charged with drugs offences. They are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court later this month.”

A spokeswoman for Boots said: “This matter is now in the hands of the police and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment.”

Charlotte, NC - An alleged bank robber was arrested after some of his alleged victims saw him in a nearby restaurant.

The BB&T on Pineville-Matthews Road was robbed Tuesday afternoon. Soon after, some of the bank employees were eating dinner at Midtown Sundries on Highway 51, near the bank.

They recognized the suspect and called 911.

The suspect was arrested, but the FBI has not released his name.

Source: WSOC-TV (Charlotte, NC) Eyewitness News