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JUNE 03 - JUNE 11, 2014

This Week in Stupid Crime

By Mike Hudson

June 03, 2014

What's in a name?

Kayshawn, or some variation of it, is a name that comes up almost weekly here at This Week in Stupid Crime and we have to wonder whether young men so named are also saddled with some sort of predisposition toward stupid crime.

In any event, we would think twice before naming a kid that, twice and once more to be certain.

Johnny Kayshawn Hilson, 21, of 1041 Fairfield Ave., Niagara Falls, is unemployed, which is another factor many of those whose names come up in TWISC share in common. And, on Friday night, he was arrested on charges of robbery and obstructing justice following an incident on South Avenue here.

Not much else is known about Hilson or the incident as police reports were sketchy, but the Kayshawn thing is definitely for real.

***

Say it ain't so!

Sorry, but it is so. Another car left parked and stuffed with valuables was targeted by local bad guys over the weekend.

Actually, a lot of cars were targeted, but we could fill page after page with reports of cars being broken into, or not, because their owners were thoughtful enough to leave them unlocked, and of the thousands of dollars of booty that was taken and sold for pennies on the dollar in order to support some street bum's dope habit, so generally we limit writing about them to one a week.

In this case, some guy left his car parked on South Avenue Friday night and, when he returned to it on Saturday morning, found that he had been robbed.

Among the items stolen, according to the police report, were a Garmin GPS device, a Google Nexus tablet, a Hewlett-Packard laptop, a computer case, a Blackberry Bold SD chip, a New York State driver's license and numerous credit cards.

We cannot emphasize too strongly the sheer folly of leaving valuable stuff in your parked car while you are visiting the falls, shopping, seeing your boy/girlfriend, sleeping, playing blackjack at the casino, drinking your blues away at one of our many fine local watering holes or anything else.

You must assume that anything you leave in your vehicle will be stolen. It really shouldn't be like that but it is.

Suck it up.

***

Man's walker stolen

Criminals in Niagara Falls have been known to sink pretty low, but rarely so low as to steal an elderly man's walker, something that happened over the weekend on Ashland Avenue.

The victim told police he came home and left his walker outside the front door while he went inside to take a nap. When he returned an hour or two later, it was gone, he said.

When a person has difficulty balancing or is at risk of falling, a walker can make it easier to get around — whether the walker is used as a temporarily or permanent aid. Many Niagara Falls crooks are unbalanced to begin with, and their use of alcohol and drugs often makes walking difficult.

In any event, police say they have no suspects in the case. The walker was described as black in color, with four wheels, a seat and cranberry colored legs.

Be on the lookout.

***

Car shot up

It was a strange night for one Niagara Falls man, who was drinking and playing cards over on Calumet Avenue when a guy he says he didn't know asked him to borrow the keys to his Buick.

For some unfathomable reason, the card playing drinker handed the keys over to the guy he didn't know and got back down to the serious business at hand, drinking and playing cards.

Wouldn't you know it? A short while later our card player got a call from a friend who said he just saw the Buick parked on South Avenue all shot to pieces.

The card player, who will be referred to from here on in as the "victim," got a ride over and found his ride riddled with bullets. He called the cops.

Police said whoever was responsible for the shooting wasn't fooling around. The size of the holes indicated a large caliber weapon, .40 to .45, the back window was shot out and the shooter even managed somehow to put a couple rounds through the car's roof.

Police are at loose ends since they have no idea of where or when the shooting occurred, whether anyone was in the car at the time or anything else.

Here at TWISC, we've got a feeling there's a lot more to this story than is being told to police, but maybe we're just suspicious.

***

Canadian shopper robbed

Attempting to avoid high Canadian sales taxes by crossing the border and shopping in the United States can be a fun way to feel like you're sticking it to the man but, for one unlucky Canuck last week, the tax free fling turned into a nightmare.

That's because he came to Niagara Falls, where local custom dictates that valuables left unattended are up for grabs.

It happened at the Wal-Mart Superstore on Military Road. Our unlucky Maple Leaf did his shopping and politely returned his cart to the cart corral, Canadians being known for their super politeness and all.

He walked back to his car when he suddenly realized he'd left his wallet in the shopping cart. Returning to the cart corral, he searched in vain for his billfold, which contained $1,050 in Canadian currency, and his credit cards and driver's license. The wallet itself was valued at another $50, police said.

When city police arrived at the scene, they went straight to the customer service desk to see whether the man's wallet had been turned in, but deep in their hearts they knew it had not.

Ruefully, they made their report and wished the unlucky foreigner good luck in trying to get back across the Rainbow Bridge without any identification.

Some stories just don't have any moral, and this is one of them.

 

 

 

 

OTHER STORIES THIS WEEK
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Owens' Garbage Plan Leaves Much to be Desired, as Debacle Approaches
Crucial Day Coming for Bridgewater Zoning Board Can Send Developers Packing
Lewiston Residents Paid for Tango, Moonwalking, Abacus, Records Show
Dyster Wants Taxpayers to Pick Up Tab for Failed Government Project
State Park for Sale: Glynn Gets More Than Half the Total Revenue in the Niagara Falls State Park
The Reporter's Position on Reporting Suicide
Allies Push Pay Hike for Niagara Health Director
Lockport Alderman's Dad gets Contract for New Fire House Doors
Golisano-Congel Bid for Bills on Track
Rochester Firm that Replaced Local Contractor On Waterfront Job Named in Discrimination Lawsuit
Average Tourist Visit a Few Hours, Cuomo, Glynn, Delaware North like it that Way
De-Olmsteding Park Promotes Short Stays
This Week in Stupid Crime
NY's Schumer leads Democrats to Try to Soften First Amendment

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