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 crack-selling candy man, indecent assault, and various accounts of drug trafficking. 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
Masked Robbers in Berlin Pulled Off a Luxury Store Heist in Broad Daylight
Tennessee Police Seek Man Who Allegedly Pulled Gun on Fast Food Workers for Getting His Order Wrong
Shameless Man Will Spend Next Six Years in Jail for Selling Crack from His Candy Store
Delta Employee Arrested After Plot to Smuggle Firearms onto Airplanes Is Uncovered
Date: 12/10/2014
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Crime: Entering an airport in violation of security requirements
Ratchet Meter: 5
Authorities arrested a Delta Air Lines baggage handler yesterday for allegedly sneaking guns into Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, then passing them to a co-conspirator. Officials added that some of the weapons were loaded.
According to NBC News, 31-year-old Eugene Harvey would smuggle the guns into Hartsfield-Jackson, then turn them over to former Delta employee Mark Quentin Henry. Henry would then traffic them to New York:
Harvey, also a ramp agent, allegedly shuttled the firearms into the airport — avoiding detection since airport workers don't go through TSA screening, according to an affidavit filed by a senior federal air marshal, George Randell Taylor.
The 31-year-old Harvey came under suspicion as a result of a New York Police Department investigation into individuals trafficking stolen and straw-purchased firearms from Atlanta to the New York area.
Video footage from the Atlanta airport showed Harvey allegedly delivering the weapons to a man, Mark Quentin Henry, who would then carry them with him on flights to New York. Those guns were believed to have been handed over to a third co-conspirator who sold the weapons to a New York undercover officer, the affidavit says.
NBC News adds that Henry was arrested on Dec. 10 with 18 handguns in his possession, seven of which were loaded. Officials say he supplied a third party with a total of 129 assorted handguns and two assault rifles, and faces charges for criminal sale of firearms and criminal possession of weapons. Meanwhile, Harvey has been charged with entering an airport in violation of security requirements.
Officials believe that Henry and Harvey had been running the scheme since January.
[via NBC News]
Self-Proclaimed “Ladies Man” Arrested for Groping Fast Food Employee at Drive-Thru Window
Don't Get Locked Up Because You're Hungry
Man Arrested for Violating Horse While Wearing Attention-Grabbing Outfit
Yet Another Cocaine Smuggling Attempt Foiled at JFK International Airport
Date: 12/20/2014
Location: New York, N.Y.
Crime: Smuggling cocaine
Ratchet Meter: 6
A man was arrested at JFK International Airport in New York City this week after trying to sneak cocaine into the U.S. inside of containers of curry and rice.
The New York Daily News reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Oral Anthony Caines at the airport on Wednesday after he returned from Georgetown, Guyana:
The officer found a plastic bag containing cocaine under a layer of food in each food container stashed in his luggage.
According to the Daily News, the 55-year-old told authorities that he was paid $5,000 to sneak the drugs into the country. He's currently being held without bail at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center.
This happens too often. Far too often.
[via New York Daily News]
Man Arrested for Hiding Heroin in Daughter's Diaper
