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 another cocaine-smuggling attempt, a crackhead couple trapped in the closet, and a middle school teacher who gave her students pot. 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 Ratchet News Network with The Kid Mero:
RNN: Ratchet News Network
Man Fails at Smuggling Over a Kilo of Cocaine Into JFK International Airport (Inside of a Diaper)
Middle School Teacher, Husband Busted for Allowing Students to Smoke Weed in Their Home
Convicted Felon Arrested After Threatening to Kill Police, “Innocent White Children” on Facebook
Police in Tennessee Arrest Woman Who Pointed Weapon at Them, Shot at Pedestrians
Man Shot, Arrested After Pleasuring Himself in Public and Stealing a Woman's Dog
Never Lie to Police in New Jersey, Then Ask Them for a Ride. Like, Ever.
Florida Couple Arrested Following Domestic Dispute Involving Box of Condoms as Weapon
Florida Woman Decapitated By Son Who Didn't Want to Do Chores
Date: 12/31/2014
Location: Oldsmar, Fla.
Crime: First degree murder
Ratchet Meter: 10
A Florida man allegedly cut his mother's head off on New Year's Eve because she was nagging him about doing chores.
According to the Associated Press, emergency dispatchers received a 911 call on Wednesday night from 27-year-old Mario Gomez. Gomez claimed that his 23-year-old brother, Christian, had decapitated their mother outside of their Oldsmar, Fla. home. Emergency responders confirmed the murder, discovering the body of Maria Suarez-Cassagne after venturing to the scene.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told the Associated Press that Christian Gomez spent two days plotting the murder, eventually using an ax to cut the woman's head off in the home's garage. He then reportedly left the body near garbage cans outside of the home.
The Associated Press reports that jealousy and his mother's request that he help out around the house prompted Gomez's disturbing actions:
Gomez was upset with his mother because she wanted him to move boxes around the house, and he was jealous of the attention Suarez-Cassagne paid to his brother, Gualtieri said.
Gomez, who suffers from schizophrenia, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
[via Associated Press]
Crackhead Couple Spends Two Days “Trapped” in Unlocked Closet
