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 cityguidetips@complex.com.
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
Man Caught Trying to Smuggle $1 Million Worth of Meth Into Georgia
Man Arrested for Stabbing Roommate During Argument Over Remote Control
Man Bites Off Another's Ear During Bowling Alley Fight
Florida Man Understandably Sad After Drunken Fast Food Arrest
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
Florida Elementary School Teacher Arrested for Sending “Sexual” Text Messages to Student
High School Teacher Jailed Following Sexual Encounters with Three Students
A 26-Year-Old Is Going to Marry Charles Manson in Prison
RNN: Ratchet News Network
