A man sipping a beer and counting a ‘wad of money’ matches witnesses’ descriptions from a bank robbery across the parking lot.

A bank robbery suspect was arrested after he strolled to a bar across the parking lot, ordered a beer and started counting “a wad of money,” Huntington Beach police said Thursday.

Ronald Langdale, 58, of Los Angeles had taken only a few sips of his beer when officers walked into Mario’s Restaurant, tapped him on the shoulder and led him to a waiting squad car, police said.

Minus the tab for the beer, all the money was recovered, police said.

Langdale allegedly robbed the Bank of America near Beach Boulevard and Ellis Avenue about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, ordering a teller to hand over money.

He told her he had a weapon, police said, but none was seen.

After the teller complied, police said, the robber left with an undisclosed amount and walked to the restaurant, took a seat at the bar and ordered a beer.

Meanwhile, police searched the shopping center and interviewed witnesses, who described a suspect wearing a baseball cap, a light jacket and dark pants.

When police went inside the restaurant, they spotted a man fitting the description sitting at the bar, counting a large stack of money, said Lt. Mike Reynolds.

“The officers were doing an area check and sure enough, they hit it rich,” Reynolds said. “His clothing was exactly the same. He wasn’t hard to find.”

Langdale is being held without bail.

Story by Mai Tran, LA Times Staff Writer

A man claiming to be an undercover agent hauled in a handcuffed neighbor for booking - but ended up facing charges of his own.

Reginald Suggs was charged Sunday with kidnapping, aggravated assault and possession of a concealed weapon. He was in jail Monday with bond set at $15,000.

Wilbur Grady said Suggs, 49, approached him Sunday and told him he was under arrest. He brandished a wooden stick and a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun, according to police reports. Grady said he recognized Suggs, who lives a few doors down on the same street.

“I was just in the yard washing the tires when this dude walked up in my yard and said he was an undercover agent,” Grady said. “He told me I was under arrest. I told him to get out of my yard with that crazy talk.”

The two exchanged words before Suggs rushed up and cuffed Grady’s hands behind his back. Suggs then forced Grady, 68, into Suggs’ car and drove him to the county jail. He told a magistrate that he had brought in a prisoner for possession of stolen property, selling illegal lottery tickets and selling alcohol without a permit.

“It was the darndest thing,” said Joe Grady, a 12-year veteran in the Lenoir County Magistrate’s office who quickly realized Suggs didn’t have the authority to make arrests. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

After a 39 year-old man became combative with rescue workers trying to treat his burns, deputies raided a methamphetamine laboratory in his garage, according to an Ashtabula (Ohio) County Sherriff’s Department report.

Kenneth L. Sylvester, who was life-flighted Friday to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland, is charged with manufacturing meth-drugs, possessing chemicals to manufacture methamphetamines and possession of drug peraphernalia, reports show.

When deputies arrived at Sylvester’s home at 4246 Route 84, ambulance workers had subdued Sylvester and were en route to the hospital. Sylvester’s father said his son set himself on fire inside his garage. He ran inside the house and jumped into the bathtub, screaming and yelling, according to the report. Sylvester’s mother then called 911.

When deputies went to the garage, they smelled the chemical odors often associated with meth labs, according to Deputy Mark Allen’s report.

Methamphetamine is a crystalline hydrochloride compound used as a nervous system stimulant and appetite suppressant. It is often called crystal meth or crank.

Deputies discovered several items used to manufacture the meth drug, including coffee filters, acetone, a turkey baster, funnel, jars, a siphon and a glass smoking device used to smoke illegal narcotices, reports show.

“I knew we had a hazardous waste scene, requiring proper cleanup and disposal,” Deputy Allen said in his report.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency was called in to clean up the site, which contained chemicals.

Sylvester’s mother recovered her son’s clothing from the site, including a belt buckle with “KKK” on it, the deputy’s report stated.

Pictures of people in Ku Klux Klan robes, as well as a laminated card stating a racial slur, were taken into evidence, reports show.

Story courtesy Shelly Terry and the Ashtabula Star Beacon

Proving they don’t call it crack for nothing, a 23 year-old man allegedly pushed a plastic bag containing crack cocaine into his rectum Saturday night after the car he was riding in was pulled over by police.

Ashtabula, Ohio police officer Tom Perry cited the driver of the car for failing to use his turn signal at West 32nd Street and Lake Avenue, according to police reports. But the passenger, Jesse McDowell of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was arrested on an active warrant for traficking in crack cocaine and was transported to the city jail, Ashtabula court records show.

“When he bent over to put on his jail uniform, an officer spotted the plastic bag sticking out of his behind,” Captain Phil Varckette of the Ashtabula Police Department said Monday.

Corrections officers found less than 5 grams of crack in the bag, Vardkette said. McDowell was charged with conveyance of drugs into a detention facility.

Monday morning, McDowell was arraigned on the drug trafficking charge, court records show. He did not enter a plea and attorney Marie Lane was appointed to defend him. Judge Albert Camplese set bail at $5,000 cash or surety. As of Monday afternoon, McDowell remainted in the city jail.

Story courtesy Shelley Terry and the Ashtabula Star Beacon

A British man who smuggled more than 9,000 ecstasy tablets past Bangkok Customs says he was later arrested - for not wearing a shirt.

Alan John Kiernan was found by police who stopped him to be carrying packs of ecstasy pills in his trousers.

“Shit happens,” said Mr Kiernan, who could face the death penalty.

The 35-year-old arrived in Thailand from Switzerland on Friday, and was stopped in a park the following day. His haul is worth at least $100,000.

Police said Mr Kiernan wanted to sell the pills to foreigners in Bangkok.

The man, whose travel documents said he came from Southampton in southern England, told a news conference that he had only been caught because he had been wandering around without a shirt.

“They didn’t catch me at the airport,” he told Reuters Television. “I got through eight customs without being stopped once.”

One report suggested Mr Kiernan came to the police’s attention because of his unusual behaviour.

Another Briton, 19-year-old Michael Connell, pleaded not guilty in a Thai court on Monday, for allegedly smuggling 3,400 ecstasy tablets into the country in November.

Four young would-be thieves had their eyes on the neon Corona beer sign in the window of Meister’s Bar and Grill in Scandia, Minnesota.

They were armed with wire cutters and bolt cutters. They were disguised with scarves and even a ski mask. And one of them had agreed to drop his pants and moon any patrons as a distraction, a law enforcement official said.

But the 15- and 16-year-olds didn’t count on some tough customers known as the Coffee Guys, four men in their 60s, 70s and 80s who go for coffee at Meister’s a dozen times a week.

The Coffee Guys were celebrating Kermit Granberg’s 84th birthday when the teenagers entered Meister’s about 2:30 p.m. and removed the beer sign from the wall. The teens banged it on the way out the door and broke it, said Bruce Swenson, 64.

Harvey Lindgren and Ernie Kertzscher followed the teens and the sign out the door. They tried to block the getaway car, but had to settle for writing down the plate.

Swenson jumped in his car and took off after the teenagers.

“I did stop for the stop signs,” unlike his quarry, Swenson said. He used his cell phone to call police and helped track the teens to rural Lindstrom. Using the license information the other Coffee Guys obtained, authorities found and arrested three of the teens.

They still were seeking the fourth on Tuesday, said Scott Malinosky with the Washington County sheriff. All four teenagers are expected to be charged, Malinosky said.

Meanwhile, a Meister owner was professing her devotion to the Coffee Guys on Tuesday.

“This is a big deal. The Coffee Guys chased them down and saved the day,” said Julie Ruddy, who co-owns the bar and grill with her husband.

Swenson said he was willing to go the extra mile to catch a thief because he got tired of seeing retail theft during the years he ran Swenson’s grocery store in Scandia.

“I hope the kids will learn a lesson,” he said. “I told the (police) dispatcher these guys have got more guts than brains.”

A pair of Perth Amboy brothers had the same bad idea about making easy money, police said.

Police Director Michael Kohut said Glenn Makowiecki, 36, of Washington Street in the city walked into the Quick-Chek at 851 Convery Blvd. at 1:15 p.m. Friday and demanded cash.

The 34-year-old Woodbridge woman behind the counter turned over an undetermined amount of money and Makowiecki ran, Kohut said.

Police caught up with him five minutes later when they saw him lying under the Route 440 overpass about a block away in an attempt to hide, Kohut said.

On March 28, Makowiecki’s brother, Guy, 41, of Zambory Street, did only a little better. At 9:45 a.m. that Sunday, Guy Makowiecki went into the same store and demanded money at knifepoint, robbing the same woman, Kohut said.

She turned over $635 and he ran, he said. Police caught up with Guy Makowiecki at 7 p.m. that day.

He turned out to be a frequent customer of the store.

He was charged with possession of a weapon, making terroristic threats and robbery. Glenn Makowiecki was charged Friday with robbery and weapons offenses. Both remained last night at Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick, Guy in lieu of $100,000 and Glenn in lieu of $75,000.

The store has seen other bad luck. On Saturday, a Cadillac backed into the building, crumpling a wall, a shift supervisor at the Quick-Chek said.

Two patrolmen were in the store at the time of the accident. One was sitting against the wall and received a minor injury to his shoulder, Kohut said.