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Non-Discriminatory Mugging

Susan Frese — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:00:17 +0000

In New York City, it seems that there is slim pickings of mugging victims, or so ex-convict Jermaine Washington seemed to think. Washington was in Riverside Park, NY looking for someone to mug when he decided to pull his fake gun on two police officers who happened to be walking by. The two officers pulled their real guns and quickly took Washington into custody, and from there Washington no doubt went straight to prison.

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment wants to say congratulations to America’s Most Wanted for nabbing genuinely hard to catch criminals for 1000 episodes!

Read about a man who pretended to be a police officer

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Sherlock Holmes and Forensics

Susan Frese — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Sherlock Holmes and forensics had a connection. Sherlock Holmes was a fictitious detective who is thought to have been born in the mid to late 19^th century though his true birth year can be attributed to 1887 when Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle brought him to life in his first Holmes based story.

Sherlock Holmes worked as a consulting detective in London with his partner Dr. John H. Watson, who moved in with Holmes to help pay the rent. Holmes was a freelance detective as well as a forensic scientist, the first of his time. Holmes is unlike anybody we would find working in forensics today because of his disciplinary crossing reach.

Holmes worked as a detective and as such used his sharp mind to “reason backwards” or to see the conclusion of a criminal act and be able to reason backwards to find the motive and the culprit. But Holmes was much more than just a detective.

Sherlock Holmes also worked in the chemistry lab of a hospital, making him a forensic chemist. Holmes “discovered” a test to detect hemoglobin, and hence blood, he did this in Doyle’s mind 13 years before it happened in the real world. Holmes commented on the uniqueness of typewriters three years before any real life document examiners did the same. He is considered a pioneer in the use of forensic science.

Today forensic chemists do not do detective work in the field and detectives do not spend time in the laboratory examining evidence, these are two separate arms of law enforcement. Sherlock Holmes was a genius at both as best described by Doyle’s quote from Holmes’ mouth expressing both processes in one eloquent statement:

“The process… starts upon the supposition that when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. It may be that several explanations remain, in which case one tries test after test until one or other of them has a convincing amount of support”

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In a Jam

Susan Frese — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:51:44 +0000

Nineteen year old Adam Cooper decided to make some extra money on the side when he got hired to clean the vents of a grocery store. Cooper, after an honest day’s work cleaning, snuck back into the vent system at night with the hopes of robbing the store. Unfortunately for Cooper the vents seemed smaller at night and he ended up stuck, unable to move, in the vent system of the store. After about an hour of being wedged in the vents he decided he could not free himself and started yelling for help. Once police arrived on the scene they had to grab a bottle of vegetable oil from a shelf and douse him with it in order to wiggle Cooper loose. Although it’s unclear whether Cooper had to pay for the bottle of vegetable oil he did have to pay his $10,000 bail for burglary and criminal mischief.

Read about another senseless crime here

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That Must Be Some Good Pizza!

Susan Frese — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:53:27 +0000

Mary Gorsuch entered a small variety store located in Maine demanding money while threatening to shoot the frightened clerk. The threatened clerk did as told and handed over several hundred dollars. Satisfied with her day’s work and having worked up an appetite, Gorsuch went across the street to a pizza parlor. It was while she sat at the pizza parlor across the street from the store she just robbed that she was arrested by police after the variety store clerk called the police and told them where the robber had gone for lunch. Apparently, Mary Gorsuch thought with her stomach instead of her brain, but instead of receiving a delicious pizza she got faced with robbery charges.

Read about another senseless crime here

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Don’t Copy This Crime…

Susan Frese — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:50:14 +0000

Paul Callahan had a mission- to rob a bank. After walking past a row of Fleet Bank ATMs, he carefully selected his target and entered the building. The suspect did not appear overtly suspicious, except for his gardening gloves as an accessory, as he approached the counter. Callahan discretely handed the clerk a newspaper that concealed his note demanding money. Unbeknownst to Callahan, but not the baffled clerk, the would-be robber was attempting to rob a copy store which had nothing to offer the robber but copies. Undeterred, Callahan asked the copy clerks for directions to the nearest bank, which he later robbed with his trusty newspaper concealed note. However, Callahan did not have long to celebrate his windfall since he was caught the following day when he called 911 to help him with his flat tire.

Read about another senseless crime here

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