Image via Complex Original
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 flashing police officer, having sex in front of a jail, and sexting an elementary school student. 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].
And for your viewing pleasure, here's the latest episode of Ratchet News Network with The Kid Mero:
NJ Police Officer Arrested for Flashing Drivers
Date: 11/20/2014
Location: Newton, N.J.
Crime: Lewdness and misconduct
Ratchet Meter: 7
A New Jersey police officer faces charges for flashing a plethora of drivers who he pulled over.
According to the Smoking Gun, 37-year-old Jason Miller, a 13-year veteran of the Newton Police Department, stands accused of exposing himself to male drivers over a seven-month stretch:
A probable cause affidavit alleges that Miller exposed himself during “numerous” late-night traffic stops to “satisfy his prurient interests.” He then allowed the male motorists to leave without traffic summonses, though, in some instances, he was aware the driver had been drinking or that a vehicle’s registration and insurance were expired.
While the affidavit details Miller’s interaction with five men, aged 18 to 26, investigators noted that they have evidence of other “late night or early morning stops involving Officer Miller and young adult males…wherein it appears that Officer Miller’s pants were opened and/or his genitals were exposed and/or a zipper can be heard opening or closing.
Miller was arrested Monday on lewdness and misconduct charges and has been suspended without pay for an indefinite amount of time. The Smoking Gun adds that he's currently free on $35,000 bail.
[via The Smoking Gun]
If You're Going to Have Sex in Public, Don't Do It in Front of a Jail
Date: 11/16/2014
Location: Springfield, Ore.
Crime: Disorderly conduct and indecent exposure
Ratchet Meter: 5
An Oregon couple who just couldn't wait ended up inconveniencing themselves and making it very easy for police by electing to have sex in their car, which was parked right outside of a local jail.
According to KVAL, 33-year-old Logan P. Jackson and 24-year-old Kelli M. Knutson left a Springfield, Ore. strip club, and, apparently inspired by all of the gyrating they saw, decided to have sex inside of a parked car. Unfortunately for them, that car was parked in front of a jail. The cops probably would've let them slide, but their rigorous lovemaking caused the vehicle to rock, and resulted in cars stopping to watch the spectacle. (Because, you know, who wouldn't?)
Forced to deal with the traffic jam, police arrested Jackson and Knutson and charged both with disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. Take your lust anywhere (well, almost anywhere) but directly in front of a jail.
[via Gawker]
Man Caught Trying to Smuggle $1 Million Worth of Meth Into Georgia
Date: 11/16/2014
Location: Douglas County, Ga.
Crime: Drug trafficking and false compartment in a motor vehicle
Ratchet Meter: 6
Authorities in Georgia arrested a Texas man after catching him attempting to smuggle $1 million worth of meth inside of his vehicle.
According to the New York Daily News, deputies in Douglas County pulled Jose Garcia-Contreras over along Interstate 20 last Sunday because his tag light wasn't functioning. Although they detected the smell of fresh paint and putty, the 64-year-old Eagle Pass, Texas native told them that no recent work had been completed on his vehicle.
Assuming otherwise, a drug-sniffing dog was brought in, and it eventually located 38 pages of meth weighing 65 pounds stashed in the floor of the vehicle.
Garcia-Contreras, who law enforcement officials believe was smuggling the drugs from Mexico to Atlanta, currently faces drug trafficking charges.
[via New York Daily News and WSB-TV]
Man Arrested for Stabbing Roommate During Argument Over Remote Control
Date: 11/16/2014
Location: Flushing, Queens, N.Y.
Crime: Felony assault
Ratchet Meter: 4
Police in New York City say a man stabbed his roommate at their Queens apartment during a dispute over the remote control, of all things.
The New York Post reports that 60-year-old Waheed Akbar sunk a knife into his unidentified 51-year-old roommate's neck and stomach at their Flushing apartment on Sunday morning. The victim was rushed to New York Hospital Queens, where officials told the Post he's in stable condition.
Akbar was arrested and charged with felony assault. Meanwhile, you really have to wonder why two grown-ass men are fighting over a remote control.
[via New York Post]
Man Bites Off Another's Ear During Bowling Alley Fight
Date: 11/14/2014
Location: Owasso, Okla.
Crime: Maiming
Ratchet Meter: 7
Police in Oklahoma say a man bit off another's ear during a wild bowling alley fight.
The Smoking Gun reports that James Foster was arrested last Friday in connection with the Aug. 31 incident. When a drink was spilled on a shared table at Owasso, Okla.'s The Lanes at Coffee Creek bowling alley, a collection of about seven girls got into a dispute with Chris Lyons, Desiree Lyons, and their 17-year-old daughter. The larger group threatened to return with muscle, and eventually came back with Foster, the father of one of the girls.
According to the Smoking Gun, a witness says the 40-year-old Foster, who did time for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and shooting with intent to kill, was seen throwing punches and biting off the ear of Chris Lyons. Lyons will reportedly have to undergo plastic surgery, as his ear could not be reattached.
Foster was a fugitive until police in Tulsa County pulled him over for speeding last week. He currently faces charges for maiming.
[via The Smoking Gun]
Florida Man Understandably Sad After Drunken Fast Food Arrest
Date: 11/16/2014
Location: New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Crime: Resisting arrest with violence
Ratchet Meter: 4
An intoxicated Florida man was arrested over the weekend after becoming upset that fast food employees wouldn't serve him because he pulled into the drive-thru lane on a bicycle.
WFTV reports that 33-year-old Gabriel Harris decided to peddle over to a New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Taco Bell early Sunday morning. Employees at the restaurant (which was about to close) called police when Harris tried to order at the drive-thru, then refused to leave the premises.
Responding officers arrived and spotted a Swiss Army knife attached to his belt loop, and Harris made the mistake of grabbing the officer's arm when he reached for it. The officer executed a swift takedown and arrested Harris on charges of resisting arrest with violence. The fruit of the arrest was this marvelous mugshot.
Chances are you'd be sad too if you got locked up under similar circumstances.
[via Uproxx and WFTV]
Lewd Strip Club Activity Gets Massachusetts Couple Arrested
Date: 11/11/2014
Location: Salisbury, Mass.
Crime: Disorderly conduct
Ratchet Meter: 6
A couple who was perhaps too excited by what they saw on stage was arrested after getting touchy-feely at a Massachusetts strip club earlier this week.
The incident took place at Salisbury, Mass.'s Ten's Show Club early Tuesday morning, where The Smoking Gun reports that the hands of 28-year-old Daniel Tromp and 30-year-old Alysson Siopes were inappropriately active:
According to a police report, Tromp’s hands were all over Siopes’s body, and he reached up an undid her bra. Siopes then began to undo” Tromp’s pants and made a motion like she was about to give him a blowjob. Security guards then intervened and asked the pair to leave. When they refused, 911 was called.
Responding police officers asked the couple leave, but, because they were both drunk and belligerent, they refused. Both were arrested on disorderly conduct charges.
[via The Smoking Gun]
Robbery Suspect Accidentally Kills Himself While Trying to Hide from Police
Date: 10/31/2014
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Crime: Robbery and weapons
Ratchet Meter: 3
Police in New York City say a Brooklyn man wanted in connection with a January robbery accidentally killed himself last month.
According to the New York Post, 28-year-old Ralik Hansen shot himself in the head while trying to hide under a couch in his Brownsville apartment on Oct. 31. Hansen was wanted by police for stealing over $700,000 worth of watches from the Cartier store in Midtown Manhattan in January along with four other men. When a FedEx delivery man knocked on his door, he panicked, convinced the police had arrived to arrest him:
In his paranoia, he ran to the bathroom and grabbed a .357 and was trying to shimmy under his couch to hide in his apartment when the gun went off,” a law-enforcement source said
The Post adds that Hansen, who was indicted in April, faced robbery and weapons charges. If convicted, he faced a potential life sentence.
[via New York Post]
South Carolina Stripper Accused of Beating Co-Worker With One of Her Heels
Date: 11/12/14
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Crime: N/A
Ratchet Meter: 5
A South Carolina stripper stands accused of attacking a co-worker with one of her heels this week.
The Smoking Gun reports that the attack took place at early Wednesday morning at Chez Joey in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Twenty-two-year-old dancer Carolyn Wright allegedly grabbed 24-year-old bartender Ashley Michaels-Hoder by the hair, then struck her in the head with one of her high-heeled shoes multiple times.
Michaels-Hoder told police she was rendered defenseless, and sustained several more blows to the head when she was finally able to lift it. The attack left her with two puncture wounds to her scalp that will require staples to close, injuries to her forehead, and a swollen eye.
Although police are investigating the incident, Wright, who has already been arrested twice this year for assault and disorderly conduct, has not been arrested. Regardless the work environment at Chez Joey is now, um, hostile to say the least.
[via The Smoking Gun]
Florida Elementary School Teacher Arrested for Sending “Sexual” Text Messages to Student
Date: 11/18/2014
Location: Lee County, Fla.
Crime: Cruelty towards a child/transmitting information harmful to minors
Ratchet Meter: 7
Even for Florida, this is pretty bad.
An elementary school teacher is under arrest after sending sexually explicit photos to a student at the school. While the student’s exact age has not been disclosed, the school only goes up to 5th grade so he is likely no older than 12.
28-year-old Tara Milton Roberts began sending the student friendly texts, but according to WZVN things escalated quickly. Using the KIK app, she sent the student several photos of herself in very little clothing, and the sheriff’s office says that “the student knew it was Tara Roberts because he recognized her white iPhone.”
She was arrested and charged with Cruelty Towards a Child/Transmitting information harmful to minors. She made her first court appearance this morning and is currently being held on $20,000 bond.
[via Gawker]
High School Teacher Jailed Following Sexual Encounters with Three Students
Date: 11/15/2014
Location: Oneonta, Ala.
Crime: Sexual contact with a minor, providing pornography, sex acts with a student
Ratchet Meter: 8
An Alabama teacher is behind bars after her sexual relationships with three students were exposed, authorities say.
According to the New York Daily News, 28-year-old Ashley Parkins Pruitt is accused of using Snapchat to send nude photos and explicit messages to male students. Pruitt, who teaches English at Appalachian High School in Oneonta, Ala., also stands accused of performing oral sex on another student in a parked car last month. Worse, authorities claim she planned to take one student's virginity.
The Daily News reports that the inappropriate relationships began in August, when she also allegedly made out with a student inside of a parked car.
The Daily News adds that Pruitt turned herself in yesterday and faces charges including sexual contact with a minor and providing pornography to a minor, as well as charges for sex acts with a student.
[via New York Daily News]
A 26-Year-Old Is Going to Marry Charles Manson in Prison
Date: 11/18/2014
Location: Corcoran, Calif.
Crime: N/A
Ratchet Meter: 8
Convicted mass murder Charles Manson, responsible for killing actress Sharon Tate, four others at her home on Aug. 9, 1969, and two grocers the night after, is getting married to a 26-year-old.
The woman, Afton Elaine “Star” Burton, told the Associated Press that she and 80-year-old Manson are indeed getting married. She said, “I love him. I'm with him. There's all kinds of things.” She’s been a supporter of Manson for years, believing he’s innocent and running websites that state the same.
Burton actually moved to Corcoran, California nine years ago, where Manson’s prison is located, to be closer to him.
California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the wedding can take place at the prison, with an outside official performing the ceremony and 10 outside guests.
Burton said she wants to continue to work on Manson's case and marrying him would grant her access to information only available to relatives. However, she won’t be reaping the benefits of family visits because of Manson’s sentencing and lack of a parole date.
Manson last went up for parole in 2012 and was denied. He isn’t eligible again until 2027 when he’ll be 92.
[via AP]
