Story Archive

State’s Evidence

Kendal, England, police had confiscated the liner of the coat Stephen Kirkbride was accused of shoplifting, but they hadn’t found the shell. That discovery was left to the manager of the store it was stolen from. He spotted it in court: Kirkbride had arrived for his hearing wearing it. He claimed to have bought it in a charity store: “It was damaged, but I thought it was a bargain.” An alternative hypothesis: he cut off the security tags. Kirkbride, 46, was convicted. Meanwhile, a Redding, Calif., motorcycle cop recognized a green pickup truck as a previously maroon vehicle that had been stolen. He called reinforcements to help him stop the truck, but it sped into a school parking lot; the driver jumped out — while the truck was still moving — rolled on the ground, climbed a fence, ran, swam, and sought refuge in blackberry bushes, police said. Finally, Noel Roy Holloway, 32, surrendered. Before being arrested, Holloway had driven the pickup to court — to face charges of car theft. (AC/Westmorland Gazette, Record Searchlight) ...Lawyers for Kirkbride and Holloway are suing their clients for malpractice.