People have been arrested for committing crimes such as murder, fraud, or robberies, and that is quite understandable. Things seriously start slipping out of control when police have to charge offenders for annoying their neighbors and inciting their murders. If that was not weird enough, the list includes people being arrested for cutting grass in public parks and causing floods. The following is a list of 10 such bizarre reasons for which people have been arrested for.
1 A teenager living in Manchester, UK was so depressed that he used multiple fake online personas to persuade his friend to murder him. The 14-year-old survived the attack and in 2003, became the first person in UK history to be charged with inciting his own murder.
A teenager.
John, (only the first name of the self-murderer is revealed because of legal reasons) invited Mark, a 16-year-old from Greater Manchester to carry out the murder. He created fictional characters who would have conversations in a chat room with Mark for nine months before the murder was plotted.
John met Mark via an Internet chatroom and fooled him into believing that he was appointed by the British Secret Service. He tricked Mark into thinking that if he could successfully kill the teenager, he would have a chance to meet the Prime Minister, would be given a gun, and will be given up to £500,000 in cash. The final message on the chatroom was “U want me 2 take him to 2 Trafford center and kill him in the middle of Trafford center??” And the reply was “Yes.”
The incident happened on a summer morning in June 2003. John was stabbed in the kidney and liver; he was deeply wounded and was hospitalized for an entire week.
Investigators mentioned that at first, the case seemed like a robbery that had gone wrong. The case concluded with John being banned for using the Internet without strict adult supervision for three years, and Mark was put under strict supervision for two years. (1, 2)
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2 In 2012, Shena Hardin, a Cleveland woman, was arrested for a traffic infraction and was ordered to stand for two days holding a sign that read “Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.” Additionally, she had her license suspended for 30 days and was fined $250.
Shena Hardin was ordered by Cleveland Municipal Judge Pinkey Carr to stand at East 38th and Superior Avenue with a sign. Image credit: Marvin Fong, the plain dealer via Cleveland
On 14 November, Hardin admitted she was guilty of driving on a sidewalk to get past a stopped bus. However, even if she insisted her misdeed was no less than breaking other traffic rules, her behavior signaled differently.
She was ordered by the judge to hold the embarrassing sign in a corner of the street, but she was reported being casual about it. Hardin was observed smoking a cigarette, texting on her phone, and not taking the signboard seriously.
She didn’t seem sorry for her mistakes at all, so the judge sentenced her to stand with that guilty board for a total of two mornings continually.
The culprit was reported to have carried out her dangerous stunt multiple times in the same year. It was the bus driver who complained about her. For evidence, he was smart enough to capture footage of Hardin driving past him on the sidewalk on his camera phone. (Source)
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3 James Scott was a Missouri man who intentionally broke a levee on the Mississippi River. He flooded 14,000 acres just to delay his wife coming home so that he could party. The party animal was convicted of causing the massive flood in 1993 and was sentenced to life in prison.
On 16 July 1993, the breaking of the West Quincy Levee resulted in devastating consequences of gas station explosions and fire. The local police believed that the catastrophe was not a natural one and blamed a 24-year-old for the entire event.
Scott never admitted that he was responsible for what happened. In his defense, he stated that he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He said he was moving the sandbags to help, and it didn’t affect the levee at all.
He was still arrested based on the accounts of witnesses who claim that Scott bragged about actually breaking the levee. According to them, after saying that the flood would cause his wife to be unable to return home, he added that there would be really good fishing over in the fields after the levee breaks.
Scott was imprisoned for life because he was already an offender many times. He had just been released from prison in 1991 for arson. The catastrophe posed serious threats to people, but there were no casualties. Scott maintained his innocence and has his next parole hearing in 2023. (Source)
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4 Andrew Nicklin, a 50-year-old from West Heath Birmingham, UK was arrested for recording his neighbor’s noisy dog and playing the recording back at his neighbor at 3 in the morning. He was charged with harassment at the city’s magistrate court in September 2010.
Andrew Nicklin leaving Birmingham Magistrates Court (Image to the left), Catherine Farrell and her dog Buster. Image credit: newsteam via dailymail
Nicklin was annoyed by his neighbor Catherine Farell’s terrier and its yelping. He decided to avenge his annoyance by recording those barks and playing them loudly early in the morning.
This was not the first time that Nicklin had gone a little too far to harass his neighbor Farell. During their two-year-long dispute, he didn’t hesitate to bang her fence and play drums loudly.
After considering the matter, the judge ordered Nicklin to perform 12 months of community service with 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also charged a £250 fine.
Nicklin’s lawyer defended him by blaming the main cause of the conflict on Buster, the pet.
Nonetheless, Nicklin was restricted in making any further contact with his neighbor Farell for the next 10 years. (1, 2)
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5 In 2014, A South Carolina high school student, Alex Stone, was arrested and suspended because of his creative writing assignment. He was charged because his article included buying a gun to shoot his neighbor’s pet dinosaur.
Alex stone. The image to the right is used for representational purposes only. Image credits: WCSC Television via cbc, Shutterstock
This poor kid was arrested on only the second day of his school on 16 August after completing his assignments. The phrase “take care of the business” was particularly highlighted.
The 16-year-old was charged and suspended from school for several days based on disorderly conduct.
Stone wasn’t expecting any trouble while writing a fictional story about killing his neighbor’s dinosaur. The article was utterly inappropriate to the teacher and the police were called immediately. Stone’s bag and locker were checked only to find nothing.
The police found his behavior aggressive, and according to them. he was arrested because of that and not because of his article.
Understandably, Stone’s mother was disappointed by the Summerville High School’s harsh and spontaneous decision of calling for police before even notifying her once.
Stone’s attorney regarded the allegations as a completely absurd and extreme form of political correctness.
He was suspended for three days and was only allowed to rejoin the school the next Monday. (1, 2)
