The Hard Way
An unnamed Bristol, Connecticut, man was charged with burglary, trespassing, and criminal mischief on June 22 after he tried to enter a public building through the chimney, the Associated Press reported. According to police, the manโs dog was trapped in the buildingโs restroom after the doors automatically locked, and rather than call for help, he tried to shimmy down the chimney but got stuck. Firefighters responded and had to remove parts of the chimney and building, causing $5,000 to $10,000 worth of damage. He was eventually freed and was unharmed. โIf he had just contacted police in the first place, we might have been able to avoid the situation,โ said Erica Benoit of the Bristol parks and rec service. [AP, 6/23/2025]
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
A mother, father, and adult son in Havlรญฤkลฏv Brod, Czech Republic, have pleaded guilty to running a fake dental clinic in their home, the Associated Press reported on June 19. They all face up to eight years in prison for the ruse, during which the son would look up how to do procedures (including extractions) on the internet; the mother, a nurse, would assist, and the dad made prosthetic devices. They raked in about $185,000 before being caught after a patient consulted another dentist about complications following treatment. [AP, 6/19/2025]
The Passing Parade
Neighbors in one Indianapolis area flocked to North Pasadena Street on June 18 to see a remnant of the storms that had moved through: a large white dome deposited in the road. WRTV reported that people drove or walked by to see it and even had their photos snapped in front of it. The sphere is believed to be a radome, a weatherproof structure that protects radar antennae or other equipment. โWeโve not seen anything like this,โ said neighbor Kirby Jarvis. โLock the doors, stay inside, aliens, you never know.โ [WRTV, 6/18/2025]
Whatโs in a Name?
On June 19 in Silver Creek, Minnesota, a car that was โswerving and weavingโ hit a curb and careened into a scissor lift, which workers were using to fix a light. The New York Post reported that the car then slammed into a tunnel wall and flipped. One worker, Benjamin Kidd, 27, sustained life-threatening injuries; another managed to hang on to the light fixture until first responders could help him down. Driving the car was none other than Patches Magickbeans, 34, of Wisconsin, who was allegedly intoxicated; police said he was babbling and reaching for objects in the air that werenโt there. Officers found psilocybin mushrooms in his car. Magickbeansโ bio on his Instagram page says he is a โwomb wisdom keeperโ and โcorn juggler.โ [NY Post, 6/25/2025]
Repeat Offender
Jacky Jhaj, 39, has been on Britainโs sex offenders list since 2016, but that didnโt stop him from arranging a mock wedding to a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl at Disneyland Paris on June 21, the BBC reported. Police were alerted to the event by an actor who had been hired to portray the father of the bride; about 100 other extras were recruited to take part. On June 23, Jhaj was charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft. His other notable offenses include hiring hundreds of children to act like fawning fans at a fake film premiere in London in 2023. He films the escapades and uploads them to a YouTube channel. The fake wedding, which included a cake and musicians, took place at the Sleeping Beauty castle and was reported to have cost about โฌ130,000, but itโs unclear how he funds the projects. [BBC, 6/24/2025]
Itโs a Mystery
The French Interior Ministry reported that about 150 people were pricked by syringe needles during a nationwide music festival, according to CNN. Over the weekend of June 21, French police detained 14 people in connection with the โspikingโ incidents, which left some victims feeling unwell. Some were hospitalized for testing. One 22-year-old concert-goer said she went to the hospital and then filed a police report. โI told myself, maybe it can have an impact,โ she said. [CNN, 6/25/2025]
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NEWS OF THE WEIRD
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