St. Lucie man arrested, drank wine as he rode electric store cart, police say

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A man who apparently drank blackberry wine while cruising through Publix on an electric cart was arrested after leaving without paying, according to a recently released arrest affidavit.
Joseph Leonardi, 68, reportedly also said he took a bite out of a candy bar about 11:45 a.m. Monday in the store in the 7500 block of South U.S. 1.
An employee reportedly spotted Leonardi, of the 1400 block of Southeast Sunshine Avenue, with a bottle of wine in the front of his electric cart. The bottle was three-quarters full.
“As Leonardi rounded the next corner it was no longer in his cart,” the affidavit states.
The employee found the bottle — half full — on the next aisle.
Asked if he drank the wine, Leonardi allegedly asked the employee, “What are you going to do, call the cops?” Leonardi also reportedly said he took a bite out of a candy bar, and investigators took the bottle and wrapper into evidence.
A deputy, who saw Leonardi’s vehicle near Kitterman Road, stopped Leonardi. He said he was coming from Publix and had opened some blackberry wine. He said he didn’t like it and put it back on a shelf. Leonardi faces two counts of larceny.

CHECK! (CAREFULLY!) some restaurants are charging you for bread and butter.

Recession-hit restaurants are helping themselves to your wallet by serving you an extra side of super sneaky charges.
The Post last week found city eateries subtly billing customers for things usually free -- including bread and butter.
Although managers claim the prices are clearly marked on menus, the outrageous charges can backfire on restaurants, experts said.
"Doing this at this time could be ultimately suicidal," said Zagat founder Tim Zagat.
"It irritates the customer so much, and the last thing you want to do right now is annoy your customer."
Unexpected costs found by The Post include:
* A $1-per-person charge for water at West Village restaurant Bobo -- noted on the menu but not mentioned by waiters. The drink is filtered tap water.
Staff said the money funds the filtration.
"If anyone doesn't want to pay it, we take it off the bill," said manager Andy Vaughan.
* $3 for bread and another $2 for butter at Company, in Chelsea.
No cost was mentioned when bread was requested and delivered to a Post reporter last week -- and a waiter refused to give a refund.
"Bread and butter are not hidden charges," restaurant spokeswoman Danielle Pagano said. "They are both affordable menu items."
* A 10 percent charge for takeout food at the sushi hot spot Nobu Next Door in TriBeCa.
"It's for the packaging materials, the costs of handling the volume of calls," said managing partner Richie Notar.
* A 20 percent mandatory tip on all checks at the Little Italy tourist spot Grotta Azzurra. more

Pilot arrested 'for failing breath test' minutes before he was due to fly plane

Marching orders: Pilot Daniel Dufour was arrested for being over the alcohol limit just before take-off from Heathrow
A pilot was marched off his plane and arrested for being over the alcohol limit moments before he was set to take off from Heathrow Airport.
Security staff at Terminal 3 alerted police claiming they could smell alcohol on Daniel Dufour's breath.
The 45-year-old captain was then hauled out of the cockpit and arrested after failing a breath test.
Dufour had been due to fly 300 passengers on a nine-hour trip to Calgary from London on the Air Canada Flight AC851.
He had allegedly been drinking with colleagues the previous night, according to The Sun.
A police source told the newspaper: 'He was amazed to be still over the limit in the middle of the day.
'He was close to tears. At this stage he appears to have thrown away his distinguished career.'
A reserve captain was called in to fly the Airbus A330.
Dufour was taken to Heathrow police station where he gave a blood sample and was reportedly bailed for further inquiries.

Shock: Horrified crew and passengers looked on as Captain Dufour was led off an Air Canada plane
His arrest comes four months after Jet Airways pilot Michael Harr was arrested at Heathrow over fears he had drunk too much to fly. more

6 arrested in Hattiesburg prostitution sting

The undercover operation, which started around noon and ran about six hours, was law enforcement’s response to public outcry of what was believed to be acts of prostitution occurring in and around the downtown area.During the sting, police arrested:• Barbara Riels, 41, of Seminary, one count of prostitution• Carrie Reynolds, 33, Hattiesburg, one count of prostitution• Jennifer Garner, 41, Hattiesburg, one count of prostitution• Lori Watts, 39, Hattiesburg, one count of prostitution• Melissa Pittman, 41, Hattiesburg, one count of prostitution• Grena Ducksworth, 47, Hattiesburg, one count of prostitution and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. more

Couple caught having sex in dumpster by Saanich police

VICTORIA — Don’t bother knocking if the dumpster is rocking.
That’s what Saanich police found out early Friday, while following up on a call of “suspicious persons.”
A Saanich police officer arrived at a parking lot where he heard noises coming from a large garbage dumpster.
The officer called out to the people in the dumpster, but no one responded. When he looked inside, he was surprised to see two naked adults intertwined and oblivious to his presence.
The two adults, a 30-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, were ordered to put their clothes on and get out of the dumpster, police said in a news release. more

Illegal aliens delivering drugs to Wal-Mart

CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Three men are in jail telling a strange story about drugs and Wal-Mart. It started with a routine traffic stop. Iron County Sheriffs also found boxes of prescription medication in the car. The driver says he was delivering them to the chain store in Cedar City.Iron County Deputy Wade Lee says Diego Jimenez, Maricio Jimenez, and Kyle Gutierrez were on their way to the Cedar City Wal-Mart. They were stopped on Northbound I-15 at mile marker 45, where Deputy Lee clocked them driving 96 miles per hour. Lee says he grew suspicious when he saw a marijuana pipe in the glove compartment. After searching the car, he found two boxes of prescription narcotics. The stock invoice found with the drugs shows the retail value is over $30,000. Lee says two of the men admitted to being illegal aliens. The driver said he's been delivering prescription drugs for a company called "Nevada Courier" for several months. Lee explains, “He said ‘I was sitting at home and somebody called me and paid me $150 and a tank of gas to drive these medications down here and drop them off.’” Police say the men are from Las Vegas. They had made a delivery in Mesquite, two in Saint George, and their fourth delivery would have been in Cedar City. Lee says, “I called Wal-Mart and they said yeah they were expecting a delivery and the driver was late.” more

Iowa Issues Marriage Licenses To Gays

Same-sex couples in Iowa began applying for marriage licenses on Monday after a state Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay unions took effect. The court issued an order early in the day confirming that the appeals process in the case has officially concluded. Iowa county clerks were to begin processing same-sex marriage applications Monday, following the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling on April 3 that legalized same sex-marriage. Iowa typically requires a three-day waiting period for marriages, but judges can waive that and allow immediate weddings. In Des Moines, about a dozen gay and lesbian couples waited in the rain for the Polk County administrative building to open. more