Getting hitched is an expensive affair!
He managed to get ahead of the police officers and desperately searched for somewhere to hide. Leak found himself beside a building with large grounds and decided it was the perfect place. He didn’t realize he was breaking into the famous Sing Sing maximum-security prison. He was immediately arrested by a guard.
The Ndrangheta mafia have become the most powerful criminal organization in Europe, controling the majority of cocaine traffic that enters the continent. Biart was on the run from Italian police since 2014 for charges of cocaine trafficking.
Ashan walked up to a police checkpoint and pointed at the wanted poster with a picture of his own face. He asked for the US$100 reward, believing he could claim it for turning himself in. An American official reportedly told journalists, “Clearly, this man is an imbecile."
Pugh decided to provide them with a more flattering image. He took a selfie and texted it to the Ohio police, saying “Here is a better photo that one is terrible.” In a radio interview, he later explained that the police had made him look like James Brown on the run, and he just wasn’t having it.
In March 2021, an Italian fugitive was apprehended by Interpol. Marc Feren Claude Biart is alleged to be a member of the notorious Ndrangheta crime syndicate.
In 2016, a man named Donald "Chip" Pugh was suspected of arson and vandalism and had gone on the run from Ohio police. A warrant for his arrest had been published, but Pugh wasn’t happy with the photo they chose.
In 2012, an Afghan terrorist tried to claim the award for his own arrest. Mohammad Ashan was a low-level commander of the Afghan Taliban, active in the east of the country.
Ashan was wanted on suspicion of planning attacks against American and Afghan troops. However, he wasn’t exactly the big cheese, so the reward for his capture was only US$100.
Having clearly been recognized, the police had no trouble tracking him down shortly afterwards. Welsh later admitted that he had been “very stupid.”
In the end, the police had the last laugh. They were able to trace his email address and arrested him within a few hours.
Sources: (Reader's Digest) (BBC) (NBC)
See also: The world's most sinister crime scenes
Welsh returned to the bank half an hour later, having “disguised” himself by putting on a pair of sunglasses, and, for some reason, putting his socks on over his shoes. He attempted to hold up the cashier, but she refused to hand over any money. He fled the scene empty handed.
In 2014, 27-year-old Dean Smith went into his local bank in his small Welsh village to update the address associated with his account. While running this errand, he apparently spotted cash in the tills, and started to hatch a plan.
A car thief in Johannesburg, South Africa fell victim to the auto-lock system during a would-be robbery. He used a jamming device to break into a parked car in broad daylight, but once he got into the car and closed the door, the auto-lock system trapped him.
The cashier was concerned for the would-be robber and called for an ambulance. Apparently he wasn’t ready to give up. While they were waiting for the paramedics to arrive, the indisposed criminal handed her a note telling her to give him all the money.
The thief began to panic and started banging on the windows to call for help. Passersby had witnessed the incident and were highly amused to see karma in action. Within 15 minutes the car was surrounded by pedestrians and the police showed up shortly after.
The man was trapped inside the car for an hour and a half until the police could get in touch with the owner to come and open the doors. She was shocked to discover the scene when she returned to her vehicle. The police promptly arrested the man as soon as she unlocked the doors.
In 2019, newspapers across the US were delighted by a ridiculous story shared by Missouri police. Officers were searching for a suspect wanted for possession of a controlled substance.
Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened at this point and did not comply with his request.
Police in New York were called to a mini-market where they found 23-year-old Blake Leak attempting to break in. Leak ran for it when the cops arrived, and they began to pursue him on foot.
In 2010, the newsroom of Montana-based newspaper Ravelli Republic was broken into by a local criminal. It was out-of-office hours, so the intruder, later identified as Stephen Crane, had the run of the place.
It’s reported that he used the office computers to visit adult websites and check his Facebook page. He then vandalized the office by spraying the room with a fire extinguisher. He grabbed some candy and got out of there.
Despite having been caught trying to print counterfeit bills, Carr continued to insist on receiving a refund. The situation escalated when Carr refused to leave the store, and employees called the police to have him removed.
In 2013, a man named Jarad S. Carr walked into his local Walmart with the intention of returning a printer he had purchased there. He encountered a few problems, as he didn’t have a receipt, and the printer was missing the paper tray and installation CD. Employees also found that it contained a sheet of fake US$100 bills he had been trying to print.
He was hiding out and living a quiet life in the Dominican Republic, uploading cooking videos to his YouTube channel (really). He was careful always to hide his face, but he failed to disguise his distinctive tattoos, which led to his identification and arrest.
When the police arrived, Carr was still refusing to leave the Walmart and attempting to barter a refund. They arrested him and found several counterfeit bills on his person. He was charged with attempted theft by fraud, forgery, and resisting arrest. It turned out he was also wanted on two felony warrants for armed robbery and burglary. He probably should have just accepted a store credit...
A German bank robber was on the run from police and decided to troll them for failing to capture him. He sent them emails mocking them for getting his height, age, and accent wrong in their description. He even informed them that he had escaped by car, and not on foot as they had claimed in the media.
The police thanked Pugh for his assistance and later apprehended him in Florida.
Someone who chooses to follow a life of crime is not necessarily the sharpest knife in the drawer. Unless you're some kind of nefarious mastermind, the risk really outweighs the reward. The terrible odds didn't seem to bother these criminals, however. Probably because they couldn't do the math!
Get ready for amateur hour. These guys were well and truly hoisted by their own petards. Click through the gallery to discover the outrageous stories of the worst criminals in history.
The funniest, dumbest ways criminals got themselves caught
They got exactly what they deserved and more
LIFESTYLE Crime
Someone who chooses to follow a life of crime is not necessarily the sharpest knife in the drawer. Unless you're some kind of nefarious mastermind, the risk really outweighs the reward. The terrible odds didn't seem to bother these criminals, however. Probably because they couldn't do the math!
Get ready for amateur hour. These guys were well and truly hoisted by their own petards. Click through the gallery to discover the outrageous stories of the worst criminals in history.