Teen Allegedly Steals 18,000 Pennies (Idiot Alert)

waff ^ | October 22, 2003 | ap

[stainlessbanner]

ELKHART, Ind. - Detective Fred Mock knew exactly where to find a man suspected of stealing $180 worth of pennies.

David Headrick, 19, was caught dumping about 18,000 pennies into a coin-counting machine at a grocery store Wednesday, Mock said.

The pennies and a couple hundred quarters were taken during a robbery in which an 88-year-old man was tied up with a phone cord and punched in the head, Mock said.

"I got to thinking, `If I was a person who did this, I'd want to convert this to currency as quickly as possible,'" Mock said.

Headrick was held Thursday on preliminary charges of robbery and possessing stolen property.

Police were searching for an accomplice in Monday's attack on the elderly man in which the robbers demanded money to satisfy a $20 debt supposedly owed by one of the victim's relatives. Paramedics said the victim did not need hospital treatment.

[jjm2111]

Brain child.

[billbears]

LOL, which one? The cop or the stupid criminal?

"I got to thinking, `If I was a person who did this, I'd want to convert this to currency as quickly as possible,'" Mock said.

With powers of deduction like that, I bet they call him in on all the big cases...

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

How much do 18,000 pennies weigh?

[kallisti]

about 54 kilos.

[Lazamataz]

This is a picture of the detective in question:

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[Blood of Tyrants]

Figure about 140 pennies to the pound or about 128 lbs.

[Range Rover]

I remember visiting the Philadelphia Mint while on a Grade School class trip. They had rectangular metal boxes (from what I recall)approx 5' high and a yard wide FILLED with pennies sitting on an outdoor loading dock - nobody paying all that much attention to them like guards or such.

I asked the person escorting us around why they left these containers out in the open supposedly overnight. His response was that the containers were far too heavy for anything but specialized forklifts to move, they could count how many pennies were in each container with to the penny accuracy via scales and NOBODY would be dumb enough to try to cart one of these containers away.

Then comes along a moron showing that the bar can ALWAYS be lowered a notch or two - you just have to be patient waiting for it to happen.

[RatSlayer]

""I got to thinking, `If I was a person who did this, I'd want to convert this to currency as quickly as possible,'" Mock said."

NO WAY. Sit on them until everyone forgets about the case and then start converting them.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

So I guess he's headed to the penny-tentiary.

[aristeides]

I wonder what you carry 128 pounds of pennies in.

[Blood of Tyrants]

A wheel barrow?

[SLB]

I wonder what you carry 128 pounds of pennies in.

3600 coin rolls!

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

I blame The Gap and their forcing of cargo pants onto children. Big pockets are big problems waiting to happen.

[Zack Nguyen]

I wonder what you carry 128 pounds of pennies in.

A clenched fist!

[SLB]

3600 coin rolls!

= 360 coin rolls! Guess I rank right up there with the crook in figurin!

[SamAdams76]

Kid obviously has no cents at all.

[Flying Circus]

Let's preposition this with the fact that the crooks were stupid enough to steal $180 IN PENNIES! Dollar per pound, the worst possible payoff you could get and still be using American currency.

[dread78645]

Kid obviously has no cents at all.

Not now, he doesn't.