The word "ratchet" may be played out, but until the Internet agrees upon a more accurate description for these crimes, it will have to do. These stories are sad, imaginative, and they inspire us to have conversations about race, class, and the American dream.
This week's roundup includes a threesome gone wrong, a meth-selling taco truck, and pocketing sex toys. Each crime is rated on our Ratchet Meter, a base-10 logarithmic scale modeled after a similar system developed by Charles Richter—except that the Ratchet Meter has nothing to do with science because it's not actually a real thing.
Read on for the best of the worst ratchet crimes in America. Proceed with caution, stay safe, don't try this at home, and send your tips to cityguidetips@complex.com.
And for your viewing pleasure, here's the latest episode of Ratchet News Network with The Kid Mero:
RNN: Ratchet News Network
Somehow, A Rhode Island Man Amassed Four DUIs in Just 30 Hours
Date: 09/24/2014
Location: Cumberland, Rhode Island
Crime: Drunk Driving
Ratchet Meter: 9
A Rhode Island man somehow managed to rack up four drunk driving arrests over the course of a 30-hour period which finally came to an end last Monday.
The Smoking Gun reports that 53-year-old Providence native John Lourenco's first arrest took place on Sunday afternoon after he crashed his vehicle into an SUV. Two children inside of the other vehicle were treated for minor injuries at a hospital in Providence.
Between 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m., Lourenco terrorized the town of Cumberland, R.I.:
At 7:15 Monday morning, Lourenco—driving a Chevrolet Malibu—rear-ended another vehicle. Lourenco was subsequently arrested after his blood alcohol content was measured at .22, nearly three times the legal limit. He was later given a court summons and released into the custody of his 79-year-old father, Cumberland cops report.
Around 11:15 AM, a Cumberland cop spotted Lourenco—now behind the wheel of a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda—driving erratically. Lourenco, a general contractor, was pulled over and an officer determined he was intoxicated. He was transported to the Landmark Medical Center, where he “was released from police custody to the hospital.”
Lourenco’s fourth arrest occurred around 5 PM after he departed the hospital and got into a dump truck he owns. He eventually crashed the construction vehicle into “a tree and a wall doing heavy damage to all.” Lourenco “sustained minor injuries and was transported back” to the hospital for treatment of new injuries.
What's more ridiculous than the fact that Lourenco was released on bail an astonishing four times is that he managed to crash a different car in each incident.
[via The Smoking Gun]
Meth-Selling Taco Truck Part of Elaborate Colorado Drug Ring
Pennsylvania High School Teacher Arrested for Sending Inappropriate Pictures to Student on Snapchat
Date: 09/23/2014
Location: Lawndale, Pennsylvania
Crime: Sexual Misconduct with a minor
Ratchet Meter: 7
A high school teacher in Pennsylvania was caught sending wildly inappropriate pictures to female student on Snapchat.
According to The Reporter, Todd Gibson, 29, of Lawndale, Pa. was arrested on Sep. 11 after authorities learned that he sent images of his junk to a 17-year-old girl in August of 2013. The Reporter adds that the student attended North Penn High School, where Gibson was a history teacher and assistant water polo coach. Initially, their conversations were innocent before Gibson's inner-creep came out:
On Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 of 2013, police said, the student said that Gibson’s Snapchat messages to her were “sexual in nature” and that the messages included pictures of him undressing and in various states of nudity before he sent her a photo of his genitalia.
Around Aug. 17, the student told investigators, she began to get annoyed with Gibson sending her messages, so she told him that someone had found out about their communications, according to the affidavit. Gibson then allegedly told the girl that they had to stop messaging via Snapchat and they should “delete each other and pretend this never happened,” detectives said.
The student said that she and Gibson exchanged a total of approximately 100 messages, according to the affidavit, and stated that Gibson frequently asked her to come to his house — she said she knew that Gibson lived less than five minutes from her residence.
After learning about the incident, school officials contacted authorities. Gibson, who began working at the school in 2008, was charged with corruption of a minor last week. He's scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 22.
[via The Reporter and Gawker]
Law Enforcement in Missouri Offering Class on How to “Win” the Media Over
Florida Man Sentenced to Five Years in Jail for Raping Dog
Man Arrested After Climbing Over White House Fence
Threesomes Should Never End in Violence
Stealing Sex Toys Is About as Low as It Gets
Three Suspects in Philadelphia Hate Crime Charged with Assault After Turning Themselves In
