Watercooler Stories

10 grenades found in home

MIAMI, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Police called to a report of a fight between neighbors in Miami said they found cocaine, marijuana, 10 grenades and a pig in one of the homes.

Miami police said officers arrived in the neighborhood around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and they soon discovered the drugs and a weapon inside one of the homes, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

Police said a further search uncovered 10 grenades in a bedroom. They also found a pig in the house.

Sgt. Freddie Cruz said the neighborhood was evacuated while the 10 grenades were taken to a lab to test whether or not they were live explosives.

Two people, a man and a woman whose names were not released, were arrested on drug and weapons charges. Police said they could face federal charges if the grenades are found to be live.

Suit for half of lotto winnings tossed

SANFORD, Fla., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A Florida judge ruled against a man who sued his ex-girlfriend for half of the $1 million jackpot she won from the Florida Lottery.

Circuit Judge Alan Dickey issued a directed verdict, which means Seminole County plaintiff Howard Browning's case was deemed legally insufficient, Tuesday after 11 1/2 hours of testimony in the lawsuit against Lynn Anne Poirier, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Browning alleged he and Poirier, who lived together for 16 years, had agreed to split any lottery winnings either of them won. He said he gave Poirier the money to buy the ticket in 2007.

However, Poirier contended she had never entered any such agreement with Browning and she had paid for the ticket herself. She said she had been trying to get Browning to leave her home for some time and eventually had to have him evicted.

Woman 'lost her mind' when beau got a ride

VERO BEACH, Fla., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a woman accused of trying to run down her boyfriend told officers she went crazy when he got a ride to work from someone else.

Officers responding to a report of a man being attacked by a woman in a Vero Beach alley behind a restaurant Jan. 28 said the man, a restaurant employee, told them he had asked his girlfriend, Courtney Godwin, 24, for a ride to work, but asked someone else for a ride when she did not arrive and he feared he would be late, TCPalm reported Wednesday.

The man said Godwin soon arrived at the restaurant and yelled at him "about not waiting for her." The man alleged Godwin threw a car jack, a chair and rocks at him before trying to run him over with her car.

"His primary concern was getting back home because she told him that she was going to set his clothes on fire," the arrest affidavit states.

Godwin told police she "lost her mind" when her boyfriend yelled at her that she was going to make him late and that he was calling someone else for a ride.

She was arrested on charges including aggravated assault and domestic violence.

Swedish pickpockets hugging for loot

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Swedish police are warning residents and tourists to be on alert for a gang of thieves who pickpocket valuables while hugging their victims.

The gang, which could include up to four men, have robbed more than 20 people in Stockholm, The Local reported Wednesday.

"Even men have fallen victim," said Gunnar Thun of Stockholm police. "But in those cases it's more of an embrace or a pat on the back."

Police said victims have reported one thief usually approaches and hugs the victim without any greeting, sometimes even lifting them off the ground. Meanwhile, a second thief takes the opportunity to steal valuables from the victim, mostly wallets and mobile phones.

The attacks have happened mostly at night and usually target young girls.