Drunk fugitives and hungry witnesses are on the docket in this week's edition of ONLY IN FLORIDA.ONLY IN FLORIDA is our weekly roundup of the strange, bizarre and just plain ridiculous headlines from right here in the Sunshine State.
ONLY IN FLORIDA do criminals try to turn themselves in, but can't find the entrance to the county jail.
Marion County authorities say 32-year-old Jackie Eugene Mayo got angry when he couldn't find his way inside the jail early Monday morning. So he started banging on doors as he staggered around the building.
Mayo was wanted on a warrant for violation of probation.
He eventually found his way to the jail's booking entrance, where a corrections officer said Mayo started yelling and smelled of alcohol.
He's currently being held without bail. (AP/Miami Herald)
ONLY IN FLORIDA does the head of a Crime Stoppers group face time in jail for eating a crime tip.
The executive director of Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers is facing up to two weeks in jail on a contempt of court charge for stuffing an anonymous tip in his mouth instead of handing it over to a judge last Friday.
Richard Masten was appearing before a judge when he refused to share information related to a tip in a cocaine possession case. Instead, he ate the paper containing the tip while sitting in court.
Masten said that showing the tip could reveal the submitter's identity and lead to a slippery slope for those wishing to remain anonymous in his program.
He'll be appearing in court again next week to see if he'll be charged. (Miami Herald)
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