These 8 Dumb Criminals In Nebraska Will Have You Laughing In Disbelief
By Delana Lefevers|Published July 31, 2015
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Delana Lefevers
Author
As a lifelong Nebraskan, Delana loves discovering the many hidden treasures of her state. She has worked as a writer and editor since 2007. Delana's work has been featured on more than a dozen websites and in Nebraska Life Magazine.
Crime really doesn’t pay, folks. And if you’re not very bright, you should be especially careful about wandering over to the wrong side of the law. These 8 Nebraska criminals either overestimated their savvy or were a little careless – either way, their stories are now hilarious cautionary tales about the dangers of becoming a criminal. (The photos below are for illustrative purposes only and do not depict the actual crimes/criminals. The video, however, is very real.)
8. A Thief Drops an Envelope of Stolen Money in Front of Cop's House
Chalk this one up to really, really bad luck on the criminal's part. In December 2014, heartless thieves stole a huge number of packages left outside of homes and checks from mailboxes. After cashing a check at Walmart, one of the thieves went out to steal more packages - with the envelope of money in his pocket. The envelope fell out right in a police officer's driveway; after a neighbor found it and gave it to the homeowner, it didn't take cops long to trace the money to Walmart and then to the man who cashed the check. Upon searching his home they found dozens more stolen packages and $23,000 worth of checks.
In May 2012, a man upset with medical staff at UNL decided to stay in the Love Library North after closing time. He lit three books on fire (the titles weren't released), intending to burn down the building. Unfortunately for him, the doors were all locked and he was unable to escape. He called 911 because he couldn't figure out a way to exit the library. Officers found a lighter in his pocket and he was arrested immediately.
A Nebraska man with a blue dashboard light - the kind you might find in an unmarked police car - was in the habit of pulling citizens over and pretending to be a plain-clothes cop. One evening, he picked the wrong car. The man he pulled over was a state trooper headed home after work; when the trooper asked to see the man's badge, the fake cop gave up the ruse and was arrested.
Sarpy County police responded to a call in December 2014 about wiring and copper pipe that had been stolen from a house under construction. The culprits might have been difficult to track down if not for the cell phone one of them had mistakenly dropped at the crime scene. Two men were quickly arrested for that burglary plus two others.
4. Car Thief Doesn't Know How to Drive the Car He Stole
An Omaha carjacker approached a woman and her teenage son, waved a gun at them, and demanded they give up their Dodge hatchback. They did as they were told...and then watched as the thief spent the next seven minutes trying to figure out how to drive the manual transmission car. He managed to activate the windshield wipers and headlights in his confusion, but the car didn't budge until it eventually rolled into a yard. When cops arrived, the teenage thief had taken off on foot but was apprehended within two blocks.
3. A Man Tries to Rob a Gas Station With a Power Drill
A man walked into a Lincoln convenience store wearing a mask and carrying a weapon that was covered with a towel to conceal it. He demanded money, but the clerk refused to give it up...because she noticed the "weapon" had a drill bit at one end and a cord at the other.
A Lincoln man was arrested in 2015 after being pulled over for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. While police searched his car, they came across a sour cream container labeled "NOT WEED." You'll never guess what was inside. To his credit, the driver didn't deny that the weed inside was his after it was found.
1. Criminal Brags About Her Crimes on YouTube (*Video contains drugs and profanity*)
Note to criminals: if you’re going to engage in some illegal activity, you should probably keep it to yourself afterward. In 2012, this 19-year-old girl stole a Pontiac Grand Am and then robbed the Waco bank using a gun, making off with a paltry $6,256. She probably would have been busted eventually anyway, but she made it easy for police by going home and posting a YouTube video boasting about that day’s criminal exploits, complaining that she did it all because she was a victim of the government. Then she flashed a big smile and held up her wad of cash for the camera.
These are only some of the more recent stupid criminals…what are some other ridiculously dumb criminal stories you’ve heard that happened right here in Nebraska?
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