Cinema, Florida Style

Meet Warronnica Harris and Terrell Tolson. The Florida couple got popped this week at a St. Petersburg theater after Harris, 23, allegedly refused to end a cell phone call as the opening credits for "Catwoman" rolled. When an off-duty police officer working at the theater tried to curtail her chat, Harris announced that "she could talk as much as she wanted on her phone." In short order, Tolson, 25, joined in, allegedly telling Officer John Douglas that he would kick the cop's ass. The report quotes Harris as saying she would "hit the cracker in his head." In a bid to subdue the duo, Douglas blasted them with pepper spray. Harris and Tolson were eventually charged with disorderly conduct--and spared having to sit through another Halle Berry bomb.

(Article from The Smoking Gun here)

Girlfriend "Hit With Alligator"

A man in the US state of Florida was arrested after he allegedly used his pet alligator to hit his girlfriend. David Havenner, 41, faces misdemeanour charges of battery and possession of an alligator, said the authorities. Girlfriend Nancy Monico claimed he beat her with his fists and then grabbed the alligator and swung it at her as she tried to escape, said officials. The three-foot (one metre) alligator, which had been kept in a bathtub, was handed to Florida wildlife officials. "He threw [the alligator] at me," 39-year-old Ms Monico said on ABC News. "I don't think he knew what he was doing. He was just throwing it at me." She also alleged Mr Havenner threw beer bottles at her at their home in Port Orange, central Florida, said the sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson. Mr Havenner's version of the story differed. According to the Associated Press, he told investigators Ms Monico bit his hand because she was upset they had run out of alcohol.

(BBC article here)

From News of the Weird

Clermont, Fla.- Police 911 dispatcher Lorraine Stanton was fired in May as the result of bad performance reviews, not even counting an incident on her last weekend. A woman called to report a street gathering that included a man wanted by police, but according to the 911 tape, Stanton was not helpful: "OK, that person would have to come to the police station, and we would have to check. When they come in, they'd have to bring ID." When the caller asked why a wanted man might voluntarily turn himself in, Stanton replied, "Ma'am, that's the only way we can check." (WFTV-TV 5/18/04)

Woman Killed In Front Of Empty Police Station

OCALA, Florida (AP)- A community college professor was shot to death in front of an empty police station by her husband, who then committed suicide, police said. Debra Allen Vazquez, 50, had driven to police headquarters to get help, but all officers were on assignment at the time, authorities said.