CrimeSpree
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PS3 crime spree, part infinity: Will the madness never end?
News hit the wires recently of an armed PS3 robbery attempt that went down in Kailu-Kona Hawaii. The assailants, who attacked the PS3 owner with a baseball bat, managed to flee the scene in their SUV, but luckily were foiled in their attempt to actually snag the console, merely stealing precious innocence from their victims during the escapade. So, yeah, we're not sure you're quite aware of this, oh well-tanned Hawaiian brethren of ours, but PS3 availability is rather on the uptick these days, presumably relegating bat-wielding drive-by PS3 robberies to the bloody pages of history. So put down that beating stick, head over to your local retailer (or perhaps Best Buy online or those wild and wacky pages of eBay), which is probably filled to bursting with the shiny black console by now, and join the rest of us foolios in the arduous wait for MotorStorm this February. What was that? Oh, you didn't want to pay for one. Well, sorry, can't help you there.[Via Joystiq]
PS3 bandits busted for $19,000 in "diverted" UPS shipments
While the verdict might be out on an eventual sales winner between the three new-gen consoles, it's hard to argue with one stat: the PS3 is a shoo-in for the coveted "Console Launch Related Crime" award. The latest in crime spree exploits is a trio of UPS employees who were working the night shift around PS3 launch time, and managed to swap shipping labels on $19,000 worth of PS3s -- around 20 systems and 24 SIXAXIS controllers. These three grinches, 25-year-old Sean Weber, 37-year-old Norbert Joseph and 29-year-old Jasel Bolden, working from a New Orleans shipping center, forwarded the PS3s to their day job at Andrews Sport Company Inc., but couldn't escape the long arm of the law. Chalk one more up for justice. Oh, and by the way guys, if you get out of the clink before New Years, would you mind "diverting" a few PS3s our way? We accept Wiis too. You know, in the spirit of giving.[Via Joystiq]
Murder charge dropped for PS3 suspect shooter, paperwork blamed
On Monday we heard that deputy Chris Long, who was blamed for the shooting death of Peyton Strickland while serving a search warrant over a suspected PS3 theft, had been dismissed from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, and that he was to go on trial for second degree murder. Turns out that the murder charges were due to a clerical error, and that the grand jury had in fact "made a substantial decision" not to charge Long with murder. At this time it's still unclear if this error will prevent prosecutors from refiling charges against Long, but it does cast a large shadow over this already murky case. According to Long's attorney, the deputy believed he was being fired upon as the police knocked down the door with a battering ram, and opened fire on the unarmed Strickland based on his law enforcement training. Other officers who were with Long claim to have not heard gunfire. The family of Peyton Strickland have asked for an investigation into the court errors.[Via Joystiq]
Crooks tie up victims with power cord whilst stealing PlayStation
While this one came oh-so-close to being filed under the ongoing PS3 crime spree chronicles, the inability to pinpoint the PlayStation unit crooks nabbed as one of the highly-coveted "3" models forced us to clump this in with the smorgasbord of other (general) utterly dumb criminal acts. While it wouldn't surprise us to find that the armed burglars who ransacked a Cincinnati home were indeed after the mighty lucrative PS3, their bafflingly high level of stupidity leaves us to wonder if it wasn't a PlayStation 2 (or worse, a PSOne). The robbers reportedly bum rushed the house with their eyes on the prize, tied up the victims with a "PlayStation power cord," bolted out while laughing evilly, and then realized they needed the very cable they left behind. Similar to the crook who jacked a TV but returned for the remote, these guys apparently forgot the keys to pulling off an even marginally successful heist, but thankfully didn't harm the poor family they intruded upon. The wonders of humanity will never cease.[Thanks, Matt M.]
PS3 crime spree, part III: Rise of the righteous
While selling a PS3 soon after launch day probably paid some hefty dividends for those lucky enough to secure one, pistol-whipping someone in order to make it happen probably isn't worth the trouble. Apparently a cash-strapped (or completely crazed) Massachusetts duo couldn't quite weigh the consequences before taking action, and are now under arrest for "attempted murder and robbery." One gunman, William J. Robertson, is already being held under a $1 million (or about 600 to 700 properly eBayed PlayStation 3s, whichever you prefer) bond, while his 17-year old partner in attempted larceny remains "on the loose." While we knew the PS3 launch would potentially bring out the worst in people, unloading ammunition to get your game (or profiteering) on is just taking things a bit too far -- so while camping out weeks in advance for a next generation console may surely pay off in the short-term, we'd say pulling a criminal stunt to get one probably won't.Update: Looks like the second fellow has now been apprehended and faces his own $1 million bond. Tsk tsk.
PS3 crime spree, part II: Fall of man
So, um, the PS3 is out today. Had you heard? That's right, that shiny box which has had been subjected to the harshest criticism, the loudest praise, and a shortage of epic proportions, has finally made it's way in -- and out -- of stores on this launch day to end all launch days. We got a pretty dang good idea of how ugly things were going to get last night, but who could've predicted 12:01AM would be greeted by such violence? We've got ourselves an actual shooting (none of this BB nonsense), hospitalizations aplenty (due to the genius who lined up 300 people to make a run for the door in the pic above), an armed EB holdup that netted 5 PS3s for the thieves, pepper ball riot control and an escaped convict just to spice things up a bit. Plus, all these suckers missed last night's episode of The Office -- how dreadful! Jim and Pam fuhevah!Read - CT man shot outside Wal-Mart, suspects still on the loose. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - Armed robbers steal 5 PS3s from Ohio EB Games store. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - Riot breaks out at Circuit City. [Thanks, John C.]Read - Police use pepper balls to control crowd in Tyson, VA. [Thanks, Troutman]Read - Escaped rapist apprehended in Best Buy PS3 line. [Thanks, MrMarvey]Update: While not actually criminal, last night's award for cruel and unusual went to PC Gamer, who were on hand in SF to try to convince a card-carrying line-waiting PS3 fanboy to swear off Sony forever. In exchange for a $7,500 Falcon Northwest PC rig, dude had to sign a legally binding contract to not purchase or ever own a PS3, under pain of death paying back $7,500. Some guy named Neil, who'd been waiting for 40 hours, signed his life away -- pic after the break.
