Weird News Rewind: Weird Animals and Weird Crime

With 2013 beginning, Patch.com has been looking back at some of the weirdest news of all.

In recent installments that ran Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 editors Deb Belt and Brian Morelli reviewed some of the weirdest, but not necessarily funny weird crime and animal news.

You can find a collection of both below:

Crime

Iowa's police forces were busy this year.

Here's a sampling of the crimes they, and we, probably won't soon forget.

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Say What? 45 Felonies for Firing Gun at Hotel Party

A Des Moines man who allegedly fired one bullet during a hotel party in Ames, racked up 45 felony charges, according to the Ames Police Department.

Deon Owens, 23, allegedly displayed a handgun and threatened several people at a party held at the EconoLodge Motel early Sunday Dec. 2, where more than 20 people had gathered.

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An Iowa City woman is facing charges after she allegedly destroyed merchandise and swore at Ankeny Walmart employees when they wouldn’t let her return something not on her receipt.

Jenell E. Nyberg, 26, was arrested by Ankeny police in the early morning hours of April 9 after she left Walmart on her bike.

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Not Quite Ryder Cup: Drunken 'Golf Cart Driving'

An Ankeny man might do well to bring an extra driver next time he gets in a golf cart — and not the kind of driver you use to hit a golf ball.

Jason Greene was arrested in Slater on Saturday and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after the golf cart he was driving allegedly struck 47-year-old William Hartman of Slater. Both men were participating in Nite Hawk Bar & Grill's "Puttin' Around Town" event, a first-ever miniature golf fundraiser held to benefit the Slater First Responders and Fire Department.

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What do SpongeBob SquarePants and over $200 million dollars have in common?

They're both reportedly missing from Peregrine Financial Group.

The Cedar Falls-based international brokerage firm, also known as PFG, went bankrupt in July after CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. was arrested on numerous counts of fraud.

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Fight Over Piece of Pizza Causes $900 in Damages

Cedar Falls police charged three men with disorderly conduct and public intoxication after a weekend fight that allegedly centered around a pilfered piece of pizza.

Police said officers on a routine patrol early Sunday morning witnessed an altercation outside Tony's LaPizzeria.

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'Criminal Mischief With The Cheese'

An allegedly intoxicated Coralville man has been accused of stealing items from the First Avenue Hy-Vee, including a jar of cheese that he allegedly proceeded to use to smear all over the men's restroom.

According to a criminal complaint from the Iowa City police department, Blake Oren Robinson, 28, of Coralville was seen loitering in the store, and then was shown on security video stealing a jar of Tostitos Salsa Con Queso Medium Cheese, chips and beer. He then allegedly began consuming them in the men's restroom, "committing criminal mischief with the cheese," according to the criminal complaint. This criminal mischief included opening the jar and spreading the cheese all over the floor and walls.

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Dancing Too Aggressively at Gay Pride Parade

A Los Angeles man was arrested and charged with interference with official acts and disorderly conduct: making loud and raucous noise, both misdemeanors, after he allegedly disrupted the Iowa City Pride parade.

According to an Iowa City police criminal complaint, Michael Steven Oren, 52, of Los Angeles, was arrested after he continued his disruptive behavior following a police warning.

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Iowa Man's 'Astronomically High' Blood-Alcohol Level Baffles Local Officials

A local man, who lived despite recording a blood alcohol content twice the lethal (not legal) limit, may now have the dubious distinction of being the most intoxicated person ever arrested in Johnson County.

Justin A. Clark, 24, of North Liberty, was arrested July 29 after North Liberty police received reports of a driver colliding with curbs and attempting to rev up his engine.

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Police Use Taser to Subdue Autistic Juvenile

A Johnston family is upset after officers used the taser gun on a 15-year-old autistic boy at the Wynnsong Theaters in Johnston Friday night.

Officials with the Johnston Police Department said the use was justified because the teen presented a threat to public safety.

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Prostitutes with Good Communications Skills Limits Arrests

Marion Police Investigations Lieutenant Scott Elam said that a three-day prostitution sting in area hotels, which led to 40 arrests, could have led to more if not for a strong communication network among the ladies of the night.

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Cedar Rapids Police have charged a 7-year-old boy with driving without a license, failure to maintain control, hit-and-run and no insurance.

Whether or not the charges will stick will remain up to Linn County officials.

The boy allegedly took his mother's car for a ride Saturday in southwest Cedar Rapids before 9 a.m., "because he wanted to move to a different house."

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48 People Charged in Metro Prostitution and Human-Trafficking Ring 

Urbandale police had a role in investigating five local reports of prostitution this month that were part of a large sweep that has led to 48 people facing charges.

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Spat on Ice Leads to Fight, Charges for 2 Hockey Players

The Des Moines Buccaneers play the Fargo Force tonight in Fargo — two weeks after a Des Moines meeting of the teams resulted in assault charges against two Buccaneers forwards.

The two players will be charged with misdemeanor assault charges in connection with a March 10 assault of 18-year-old Fargo Force defenseman Neal Goff and of his 79-year-old grandfather, said Urbandale Police.

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Roadside Nap Leads to Waukee Couple's Arrest

West Des Moines police reportedly found a Waukee woman laying on Interstate 235 early Thanksgiving morning after a cab driver allegedly ejected her and her husband from his vehicle after their fight in the back seat resulted in him being hit.

Officer Jeremy Kemmer was dispatched to the 200 block of Interstate 235 to assist his colleague, Officer Anthony Giampolo, who reportedly found a woman laying in the roadway.

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Former Waukee Cub Scout Leader Sentenced to Four Years in Child Pornography Case

Jonathan David Payne, a former Waukee Cub Scout leader and father of two, will spend four years in prison for possessing child pornography.

In federal court papers filed June 1, Payne was sentenced to 48 months in prison and another five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $100 to a crime victims assistance fund and required to forfeit all computer and related equipment used to commit the offense.

Man Facing Charges for Alleged Crime 'Spray'

Here's a little something that may help you appreciate your uncomfortable work station.

A Farm Bureau Financial Services employee was allegedly caught on video urinating on female coworkers’ chairs, and now West Des Moines police are considering second-degree criminal mischief charges against him.

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Camera Trap Snares Man Leaving Bizarre Trinkets for Neighbors

A West Des Moines man who for five years has allegedly been leaving raw meat, dolls and other trinkets on a neighbor’s property has been caught on film and now faces harassment charges, according to police.

The victim, a 45-year-old woman, first reported to police in 2007 that someone was depositing odd items — a plastic bag containing raw meat, a Christmas ornament and small dolls, for example — on her property in a West Des Moines townhouse development, according to a report filed by West Des Moines Police Officer Ed Harvey.

Animals

Animals made news in Iowa in 2012 -- from coyotes wandering into cities to a dog who does a headstand to head lice and bedbug infestations.

Here's a sampling of news from the animal kingdom we probably won't soon forget.

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Reward Offered for Information About Cat Shot With Blow Dart in Ames

A neighbor of the Ames man whose cat was killed with a blowgun has offered a reward for information about the shooting. Valerie Stallbaumer discovered the cat struggling to walk in her neighbor's driveway and later started a reward fund for information leading to the arrest of the person or people involved in the shooting. She has contributed $100.

Stallbaumer found her neighbor Ron Carson's cat, picked it up and saw the orange tag of the dart sticking out of the cat's chest. She and a neighbor rushed it to the Iowa State University veterinary clinic, but its heart had stopped.

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Steve King: Comments on Animal Fighting Distorted

Congressman Steve King, R-Kiron, faced protestors for comments on animal fighting that he has made.

In a rebuttal video, King says that he only meant that human rights should come before animal rights and that he has broken up fights between dogs.

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Customer Leaves After Reporting Alleged Bed Bugs at Ankeny Hotel

Police were called to the Super 8 motel in Ankeny for a dispute between the hotel clerk and a guest. The guest called the police department and reported his room was allegedly “full of bed bugs,” according to a police call log.

The customer agreed to leave and hotel management agreed to not charge the guest for his room.

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Two garden store cats have found new homes after being kicked out of Earl May Nursery and Garden Center after a memo came down from the store's corporate headquarters.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported on the fates of Steve and Ginny, the two felines. The Courier reported a memo was sent to all the chain's stores, forbidding pets on store property, due to another store that started a cat adoption service that was costing the company money, as well as liability concerns.

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Teach Your Dog to do a Headstand With This How-To Video

In her latest post to her podcast on her Youtube channel, Cedar Falls High School student Christina Brammer teaches her dog, Splash, to climb the walls ... sort of.

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Johnston residents received a crash course in understanding coyotes and how to discourage them from coming into neighborhoods.

The best option for keeping coyotes away from homes is hazing.

"Hazing is very simple," one expert said, of a technique to discourage coyotes. "All coyotes want to do is sleep, eat and make little ones. If you see coyotes, throwing something is an option, yell, whistle, make noise."

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Marion Man Asks City Council to Let His Family Keep Their Ducks

Marion resident Scooter Clark has a duck problem. He's got several mallards at his house that are attached to his family, and, well, they are attached to them.

"They follow us everywhere," he told Marion's City Council.

He keeps mallard ducks at his residence on 11th Street and he asked the council to consider an exception to their zoning ordinance that outlaws what it defines as "exotic animals."

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Urbandale Police Need Help Finding Cat Who's Bitten Two People

Urbandale Police have asked for the public's help in locating a black cat -- and its owner -- because authorities believe the feline has bitten two people.

A police department news release says a black cat wearing a pink collar has bitten two people this week in the downtown Urbandale area. Because the animal has not been found, the bite victims have begun undergoing rabies shots, police said.

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Waukee's Famous Hardware Store Feline Celebrates the Big 2-0

At the ripe old age of 20, Wesley the cat has lived well behind his allotted nine lives.

This hefty orange tabby, well-known among Waukee residents, has taken up shop in the window of Waukee Hardware for the better part of 15 years.

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Waukee Schools Announce Head Lice Notification Policy

It's a debate that's had Waukee parents scratching their heads since the start of the 2012-13 school year - why aren't parents notified when head lice is present in their child's classroom?

The question's been thrown around since a handful of incidents of head lice were reported at Eason Elementary in August, just two weeks into the new school year with no mandatory reporting policy in place district-wide. After weeks of discussion, the district decided it will post notices on a building's website when there is an outbreak.

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EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK: Farewell to Special Friends at Great Ape Trust

At the time I didn’t fully appreciate it, but one of the best things anyone ever said about me was that I am “orangutan-like.” To be orangutan-like is to be chilled, accessible, as easy and gentle as a morning rain. I’ll take that. Who wouldn’t?

So I’m being as orangutan-like as possible as I say goodbye to a couple of good friends, Popi and Allie, the last of the orangutans to leave the Great Ape Trust campus in southeast Des Moines.

They will live out their lives at the Center for Great Apes in Florida, where an intricate network of overhead tunnels will allow them to travel high above the campus — as they would in the wild.

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West Des Moines Editor’s Notebook: Is There an Anti-Tomato Hex for Socially Deviant Chipmunks?

I caved. I bought the chipmunks a tomato plant the other day.

I swore off playing at urban farmer after my last few tomato crops were devoured by an exploding chipmunk population. They’re heartless creatures. They wait until the fruit is at its ripe, succulent best, then get up early in the morning and take a big bite. Big Boys, Better Boys, Beefsteaks or Romas – they’re not choosy.