I typically spend my lunch hour seated at my desk, enjoying a meal while browsing news sites on the Internet.

Other than the normal news of the day, usually political in nature, I usually run across a story or two that are extremely unique in nature. The following are examples of my findings:

A Dec. 17 article authored by David K. Li of NBC News was titled – Deer poacher sentenced to watch ‘Bambi’ once a month for year in Missouri jail

In the article, Li wrote about 29-year-old David Berry Jr. – saying he was involved in what Missouri regulators called one of the biggest poaching cases in state history.

“Berry was among a group, which included his brothers and father, who illegally killed hundreds of deer over at least three years, authorities said. Arrests in the probe began in 2016,” Li wrote. “The men were found to have broken a laundry list of hunting laws, including hunting out of season and using illegal weapons, such as lights that temporarily blind deer at night so they stand still for an easy kill. They also would cruise in their vehicles and kill deer from the roadsides, also in violation of state hunting laws, officials said.”

Li added that according to authorities in Missouri, these alleged poachers would sometimes cut off the heads of their kills, leaving the rest of the deer carcass to rot in fields across Lawrence County.

Berry pled guilty earlier this month to taking wildlife illegally and was sentenced to a year in the Lawrence County jail.

County Judge Robert E. Greene also ordered that while he sits in jail, Berry is to watch the classic 1942 animated movie about a baby deer named Bambi whose mother is shot and killed by hunters. He must watch that movie every month during his time behind bars.

Berry and his father, David Berry Sr. lost their hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for life, officials said. Berry Jr.’s two brothers, Eric and Kyle, and another man in the group lost their privileges for periods ranging from five to 18 years.

In another unique story, this one from WBRU/WYOU in Shamokin, PA, one victim has had enough from “porch pirates” – those that prowl residential neighborhoods for unopened packages.

Robert Lynch is fighting back. He’s hoping what was stolen off his porch this time may make those thieves never come back.

Lynch left boxes filled with kitty litter and feces out on his porch. Sure enough, the boxes were stolen by a porch pirate. He got a good look at the thief thanks to recently installed surveillance cameras.

“When I first saw it, I thought I couldn’t believe somebody would take that. But then I laughed about it. If I was on the bus and sitting by that person and they opened the box, I mean the smell was unbelievable,” Lynch said.

Police told Lynch that as long as he’s not harming people he can leave whatever he wants on the front porch.

Lynch has also started a trend in the neighborhood. It seems his neighbors are also filling boxes with garbage and seeing if people will take them.

And, finally, this from the Associated Press.

Police in Port St. Lucie, Florida say a 23-year-old man went through a McDonald’s drive-thru earlier this month and tried to pay for his order with a bag of marijuana.

News outlets report Port St. Lucie police say the fast food worker denied the trade and Anthony Andrew Gallagher drove off, only to return again a short time later. Police arrested him Sunday on charges of marijuana possession and driving under the influence.

Hope to have some more of these news nuggets in the months to come.

 

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.