We want people to be excited about flowers, but even we admit there is such a thing as too excited. Like, say, when you break the law to get your floral fix -- as the following two desperate souls allegedly did. 

Arizona native Christopher Billie, 37, was arrested Aug. 31 on an auto burglary charge after stealing flowers from a hearse, reports the Associated Press. Funeral directors at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Flagstaff watched Billie, reportedly intoxicated, as he opened the door to the vehicle, climbed inside and started grabbing flower vases. The mortician detained Billie at the scene until the police arrived.

Megan Harrison, 28, of Durham, N.C., was spotted by local police on the night of Aug. 28, arms full of petunias and geraniums, reports The News & Observer. When police asked where she had got them, she first said they were a gift, but quickly confessed to digging them from the property of two local businesses. Since spring, dozens of residents and businesses around downtown Durham have reported flowers being stolen from their properties.

Police officer Kimberly Schooley took Harrison to the scene of the crime, charged her with misdemeanor larceny and re-planted the flowers herself. "I asked her to do that," said supervising officer, Cpl. Marianne Bond to the Observer. "We can't hold the plants as evidence."

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 

Previous Article    Next Article