This Week's Most Ratchet Crimes in America

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 pretty in pink handgun, dirty cops, and badass children. 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 [email protected].

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Date: 4/25/14
Location: Spartanburg, S.C.
Ratchet Meter: 9
Crime: Domestic Violence

A South Carolina man reportedly attacked his ex-girlfriend after she picked him up from a court-mandated anger management class. The Smoking Gun reports that police arrested 42-year-old Johnny Wilkins in Spartanburg, S.C. on April 23 after he departed an anger management class he was ordered to attend following a domestic violence conviction. Eingar Hughes, the same woman he was accused of previously assaulting, picked him up and the two got into what the police report describes as a "heated" confrontation.

This culminated in Wilkins allegedly striking Hughes in the face. She allegedly responded by hitting him in the face, as well. The incident left Hughes with bruises and swelling to her face, and Wilkins with bruises and cuts to his lip. Wilkins was charged with domestic violence and taken to the county jail, while Hughes escaped charges.

Date: 4/26/14
Location: Houston, Texas
Ratchet Meter: 9
Crime: Improper Relationship With A Student

A Houston teacher has been arrested and charged for giving a student a lap dance—in the classroom—on his 15th birthday. The Smoking Gun reports that 42-year-old Felicia Smith admitted to dancing for the boy at Stovall Middle School on Feb. 26. She told police that the class egged her on to perform the four-minute dance routine, while other students told the boy to sit down in a chair and began playing music.

According to the New York Daily News, the spectacle included Smith "[rubbing] her hands on his body, [fondling] him and [grinding]" against the boy, even placing her head between his legs at one point. The teen reportedly admitted to slapping Smith's butt during the performance, and records say she capped it off by hugging him and saying "I love you, baby. Happy Birthday." Smith was arrested on April 24 and charged with an improper relationship with a student. She posted her $30,000 bond the same day and will remain free until her May 22 court appearance.

Date: 5/2/14
Location: Burlington, Iowa
Ratchet Meter: 8
Crime: Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Drug Possession

Police say a group of middle school students in Iowa planned to corrupt their home economics class by baking marijuana-infused cookies. The Smoking Gun reports that the Burlington Police Department was phoned on April 29 after the administration at Edward Stone Middle School in Burlington, Iowa got word that not only was weed being distributed on the school's campus, but four 13-year-old boys planned to bake cookies using it.

The Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force confirmed this, and noted that school administrators located the cooking utensils and cookie dough, which had marijuana inside of it. The students were arrested on April 30, then remanded to the wrath of their parents. Two face charges for delivery of a controlled substance, and the remaining two face drug possession charges.

Date: 5/1/14
Location: Beijing, China
Ratchet Meter: 8
Crime: Assault

This may not be an American ratchet crime, but it's too ratchet to leave out. Shocking footage of a man throwing a one-year-old baby has been making its way around the Internet after first appearing on the Chinese website 56.com. Apparently the man had been in an altercation with a shop keeper and responded by hurling the child through the air.

Bizarrely, this is the second baby-tossing incident in China in recent memory. While the latest case happened in Huainan, last year a man was executed after throwing a pram containing a baby while fighting over parking in Beijing. While that baby died, the child in the video is still alive, though remains hospitalized. Meanwhile, the man who threw the baby is still at large.

Date: 5/1/14
Location: Teaneck, N.J.
Ratchet Meter: 9
Crime: Public Urination

Over 60 New Jersey high school seniors were arrested on May 1 after their senior prank—pissing on things and overall chaos—went wrong.

According to NBC New York, 62 Teaneck High School students broke into the school, reportedly flipping tables, greasing doorknobs and, ultimately, pissing all over school hallways like savages. They triggered the school's alarm system around 2:30 a.m., eliciting the response of police who arrived to discover some students hiding, while others proceeded with their plan of destruction.

NBC New York adds that 24 students are 18, so they'll all receive nice, shiny court dates as early graduation presents.The rest were remanded to their parents to face familial wrath. Teaneck Police Sgt. John Garland remains stunned by what he saw. "I've been a police officer 19 years, and this is the craziest thing I've ever seen," he told NBC New York.

Senioritis and the desire to execute the ultimate senior prank should never involve arrests, specifically for public urination and damaging your school. For the record, Teaneck High School was open this morning.

Date: 5/1/14
Location: Pelham, N.Y.
Ratchet Meter: 7
Crime: First Degree Assault

On the morning of April 30, an off-duty NYPD officer was arrested for allegedly shooting a driver in Westchester.

The incident reportedly took place just before midnight on April 29 in Pelham, N.Y. when the officer opened fire into a vehicle with two passengers at a stoplight. According to the New York Times, it's still unclear why Officer Brendan Cronin discharged his weapon, but the Times notes that someone who was "briefed on the matter" said Cronin, 27, had been drinking with other off-duty cops prior to the shooting.

The unidentified 47-year-old victim sustained six gunshot wounds to the hand, arm and torso. He's in stable condition at New Rochelle's Montefiore Hospital, where the unharmed driver rushed him following the shooting. After refusing a blood-alcohol test, Cronin was arrested and charged with assault in the first degree.

Date: 4/30/14
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ratchet Meter: 7
Crime: Possession of a Firearm

A group of suspected firearms dealers accused of running guns in Brooklyn were hit with a staggering 556-count indictment today. Prosecutors say they were responsible for trafficking hundreds of pistols, revolvers, automatic and semi-automatic weapons throughout the city.

According to Gothamist, Michael Brewer Quick, Aliya Camille Dowell, Rodney Cantrell Brewer, Emmanuel Caswell, Marcus White and Albert Ellis Pless worked together to transport the guns from Georgia to New York City. The weapons, which included MAC-11, AR-15, two TEC-9s and 151 handguns, were then sold to an undercover cop near the 69th Precinct in Canarsie. The most unique find? The pink handgun you see above.

Quick, Dowell, and Brewer are currently in custody in Brooklyn, while the rest await extradition back to Georgia. All were indicted on conspiracy charges, and four will face charges for criminal possession of firearm.

Date: 4/29/14
Location: Queens, N.Y.
Ratchet Meter: 8
Crime: Prostitution

A Queens apartment doubled as a brothel, authorities say. CBS New York reports that undercover cops caught a madam and her two prostitutes working out of a lavish Flushing apartment. Police added that their arrest came after the women agreed to sexual intercourse in exchange for $120. The suspects were released after being arraigned, CBS New York reports.

Date: 4/28/14
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Ratchet Meter: 8
Crime: Assault

Authorities say a Tennessee police officer was fired last night after images of him allegedly choking a college student to the point of losing consciousness surfaced. Over 800 students reportedly attended a house party near the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday night. Upwards of 60 law enforcement officers responded, and Knox County Officer Frank Phillips was photographed choking 21-year-old student Jarod Dotson in front of the party.

John Messner, who took the photographs and sent them to the Daily Mail, said Dotson was already being handcuffed when Phillips choked him until he lost consciousness. Though both Phillips and the Knox County Sheriff's Office said Dotson resisted arrest, Messner and other Witnessed told the Post this was not true.

Dotson was charged with resisting arrest and public intoxication. After determining that excessive force had been used and would not be tolerated, Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones said in a statement that the investigation will be forwarded to the Knox County Attorney General's Office "to determine [if] any further action" is necessary.

Date: 4/26/14
Location: New York City
Ratchet Meter: 7
Crime: Carjacking, Theft

An armed gunman allegedly carjacked a man and stole $25,000 worth of prescription drugs in New York City earlier this month, authorities say.

According to Gothamist, a 49-year-old man was delivering pharmaceuticals at 8 a.m. on Apr. 18 when he was accosted by man brandishing a firearm at 150th Street and 14th Avenue. That's when police say he forced the man into his vehicle and drove it to Yonkers before kicking him out. He then made off with the vehicle, which contained $25,000 worth of prescription medicine.

Police say the assailant is between the ages of 25 and 30-years-old with a "pockmarked face and a bald head." The NYPD asks anyone with information about him to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, text TIP577 to 274637 or simply visit their website.