Offbeat - News April 24, 2011

Wear your emotions on your fingers with emoticon rings (examiner)
Chao & Eero Jewel from Finland has created some emoticon jewelry, mostly rings but also necklaces, that show off IM and SMS emoticons. You can purchase smiley faces, smiling eyes and other emoticons.

Calif. gangster's tattoo of crime scene helps solve murder (WTSP-TV Saint Petersburg)
NORWALK, Calif. - When Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide investigator Kevin Lloyd was routinely looking through snapshots of tattooed gang members, he saw something that caught his eye - a crime scene he was familiar with.

Strange Finding After Fatal Car Accident (WIAT-TV Birmingham)
Birmingham man Murry Frank Jr. was killed when his car collided with a pole early Saturday morning.

Police: Proctor Man, 58, Dead After ATV Accident (WCCO)
Police found a 58-year-old Proctor man dead Saturday afternoon when they arrived on the scene of an ATV accident in Alborn, Minn.

Police Think Plymouth Apt. Fire Could Be Arson (WCCO)
Police in Plymouth, Minn. are investigating an apartment fire they believe may be arson.

Neighbor says suspect in Oak Forest standoff hoax was 'very strange' (Daily Southtown News)
An Oak Forest man who duped police into a lengthy standoff was described as an odd neighbor who enjoyed blowing up fireworks at random times, nearby residents said.

Ohio man charged with teasing police dog challenges local law, says it violates free speech (The Hartford Courant)
A southwest Ohio man charged with teasing a police dog by barking at it says a city law violates free speech.

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