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First Coast Connect

ONLY IN FLORIDA: Congressman Mistakes Federal Officials For Foreign Diplomats

We think people in "your country" might be interested in this week's 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 call their phones after leaving them at the scene of their crime.

Forty-six-year-old Wayne Bradley pulled off a successful break-in at a home in Hollywood Wednesday, but quickly realized he left his phone on the victim’s bed.

Instead of moving on from his mobile technology, Wade decided to call his phone to have it returned.

The police detective investigating the crime heard the phone ringing in the house and answered.

After identifying the fingerprints on the phone, police were able to nab Wade as their suspect, as well as finger him for five other robberies in the same neighborhood. (New York Daily News)

ONLY IN FLORIDA do people get refunded for car sales in pennies.

As the great Ken Amaro at First Coast News reports, Irena Mujakovic purchased a 2003 Saab from Holiday Motors here in Jacksonville. She now regrets her decision.

The international college student says the car had transmission problems. The dealer repaired the vehicle and sold her a warranty, but then the transmission went out again.

She filed a complaint with the DMV's district office. The state agency investigated and told the dealer to give her a refund.

This week when she went to pick up her refund, she was surprised. She said the dealer gave her some dollar bills and two bags of coins that were mostly pennies.

The owner says it’s the best he can do and the money is waiting at the dealership to get picked up. (First Coast News)

ONLY IN FLORIDA do Congressmen not understand that American citizens come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Last week Representative Curt Clawson mistook two senior U.S. officials testifying at a congressional hearing for representatives of the government of India

In an awkward exchange that quickly went viral, Clawson boasted of attending school in India and his love of Bollywood films. He made the comments to Nisha Biswal of the State Department and Arun Kumar of the Commerce Department.

Although both Biswal and Kumar were introduced as U.S. officials, Clawson repeatedly asked them questions about "your country" and "your government," in reference to the state of India.

Apparently confused by their Indian surnames and skin color, Clawson also asked if "their" government could loosen restrictions on U.S. capital investments in India.

Clawson won a special election to replace Trey Radel, who stepped down after getting busted for cocaine possession. (BBC News)

WATCH: Rep. Curt Clawson mistakes senior U.S. officials for Indian diplomats

Send your ONLY IN FLORIDA suggestions to firstcoastconnect@wjct.org.

You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax and Patrick Donges at @patrickhdonges.

Melissa Ross joined WJCT in 2009 with 20 years of experience in broadcasting, including stints in Cincinnati, Chicago, Orlando and Jacksonville. During her career as a television and radio news anchor and reporter, Melissa has won four regional Emmys for news and feature reporting.
Patrick Donges served as WJCT's Digital Content Editor from August 2013 - August 2014.