HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: Several police officers in Denver, Colo., say they saw a city janitor argue with his boss – and then watched as he left carrying a steam cleaner and a vacuum cleaner out through the police department's front door. Robert Martinez, 45, “told his supervisor that he was taking them next door to the city and county building,” an officer said, but when he came back and loaded up two computers and carried them out, too, they decided to follow him. Martinez was arrested two blocks from the station after he passed the turn to the city and county building. (Denver Rocky Mountain News) …Never strike while still angry.

IMPOTENT, IMPORTANT, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? Lillie Clouse, 80, was obviously tired of her Toledo, Ohio, neighbors playing music too loud. She demanded the man across the street turn down his radio. Police say that when he refused, she went home and got her shotgun and fired a round from her porch. She managed to hit two children who were standing nearby, but because the shotgun shell was 42 years old, it had lost its power and the pellets didn't even pierce the kids' clothing. Clouse was arrested and jailed, charged with felonious assault. (Toledo Blade) …Never attack without understanding your abilities.


BLOCK, BLOCKHEAD, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? John Deraimo, 41, Kyle Worthen, 22, and brothers Mark, 34, and Joe Sutherland, 22, were arrested after fighting with two other men. When police arrived – finding several of the men duking it out in the water – Worthern and the Sutherlands tried to escape in a sport fishing boat, but hit a rock and sank. “They abandoned their boat and started swimming,” says Block Island, R.I., Police Chief William McCombe. “When they arrived on shore, they were met by the police.” The men were fighting, he says, “over a $12 plastic chair that didn't belong to any of them.” (Providence journal) …Never fight without understanding the bigger picture.


MISTAKEN IDENTITY: David Gamble was at work at the Hum Hardware and
General Store in North Little Rock, Ark., when clerk Shannon Hindman came up to him to say, "There's somebody up front who's trying to cash your [income tax] refund check.“ Hindman said Waymon O'Neal, 55, had presented the $300 check with Gamble's name on it to pay for a small purchase. ”Of course I recognized the name, so I found David and told him.“ Several employees held O'Neal for the police. ”It's obvious this guy didn't do his homework," a police spokesman said. (AP) …And, never forget who is in the righteous position when you defend yourself.