When we watch crime shows on TV, often criminals are made out to be clever and cunning, hatching the most ingenious plans to carry out their capers. However, in reality, there are very few criminals who are actually like this, and most of them stand no chance of escaping the law, partly because they’re… well… not the brightest crayons in the pack. Read on to find out about 10 of the stupidest criminals who didn’t make their great escape.
1.
And finally, a suspect who was being interrogated by police became a victim to their cunning trap. They placed a metal colander on his head, and used wires to attach it to a photocopier. They placed a sheet with the words “He’s lying” printed on it inside the photocopier, and each time they thought he was lying, they pressed the copy button. The suspect believed that the “lie detector” was real, and eventually confessed to his crime.
2.
This one is actually pretty clever from the defendant’s side, but the situation itself is wonderfully stupid. When a man was accused of burglary, his lawyer tried to defend him in court by stating that he merely put his arm through a window and removed a few items, and you cannot punish an entire person for the work of one of their limbs. To this the judge said, “Using your logic, I sentence the defendant’s arm to one year’s imprisonment.” He also made the mistake of saying the defendant could choose whether or not to accompany his arm in prison, not realising that he happened to be the owner of an artificial arm. The defendant and his lawyer removed the arm, placed it on the bench, and left.
3.
A robber was waiting in line at a downtown Bank of America after having written a particularly badly spelled note to give the teller, informing them of his intentions. However, after a few minutes, he began to fear that somebody had seen him write the note and called the police, so instead he made his way to Wells Fargo across the street. He waited in line there, and gave his note to the teller, who read it and judged from the spelling that he must not have been too bright. She said that since the note had been written on a deposit slip for Bank of America, he’d have to go back there or fill out a slip for Wells Fargo instead. The robber returned to the Bank of America whilst she called the police, who arrested him a few minutes later whilst he was still in line.
4.
A man on trial for drugs possession claimed that he had been searched without warrant. When told that the officer had not needed a warrant to search him because there was a chance the bulge in his pocket could have been a gun, he brushed it off as nonsense and gave the judge his jacket to examine. The judge found a packet of cocaine in the man’s pocket and required a five minute recess because he found it so funny.
5.
In Maryland, a couple of burglars tried to cut into a safe. However, they hadn’t done an awful lot of research into the tools they should use, because they were using a laser tag gun. The robbery was, as you probably guessed, unsuccessful.
