Slightest Provocation
Police arrested Orlando Thompson, 26, in Panama City, Fla., after they said he killed a co-worker at a seafood restaurant during an argument over the amount of spice to put in gumbo. The victim, Caleb Joshua Halley, had formerly portrayed the Florida State University mascot Osceola. (Tallahassee Democrat)
When Guns Are Outlawed
British authorities said Rostam Notarki, 53, used an ironing board to kill Charles Hickox in London. According to witnesses and surveillance footage, Hickox entered Notarki’s pub, brandishing a tennis racket in each hand and accusing the landlord of substituting cheap wine for the three expensive bottles Hickox had bought and taking his credit card.
After threatening to “crack some ribs,” Hickox pushed Notarki with one of the rackets and then ran off. Notarki gave chase, “holding the ironing board aloft and horizontally,” prosecutor Michelle Nelson told the Old Bailey jury. He struck Hickox from behind with the ironing board, pushing him into the road, where he hit his head on the wheel of a passing van. He died an hour later. (Britain’s Metro)
Lawmakery
Warren Jones, a city councilor in Jacksonville, Fla., introduced a bill making it illegal for homeowners to back into their own driveway. Jones said the proposal would crack down on the visual blight caused by owners parking inoperative vehicles backward so officials can’t read license plates, which Florida requires only on the rear. If the vehicle tag isn’t visible from the street, the measure requires the owner to write down the information with 2-inch-tall letters and post it where city code enforcement inspectors can easily see it from the street. (Jacksonville’s The Florida Times-Union)
