A ‘serial pooper’ on the loose in Houston was caught on camera

The neighborhood of Woodland Heights in Houston, Texas has an unwelcome visitor who has repeatedly defecated in the yards, and more often driveways, of several residents. The ‘serial pooper,’ as some have described the man, has even targeted one particular house six times.

A still image from the surveillance footage that recorded the suspect. (KPRC)

KPRC Local 2 reports, Precinct One Constable’s Office Deputies are on the hunt for this unidentified man. He was caught on surveillance video by one of his victims, and authorities are using that footage to track down the suspect. The man leaving his personal waste in the neighborhood is described as an older, balding man with a mustache, who was wearing shorts at the time the video was captured. Deputies say that the man will likely face a charge of criminal mischief or one of indecent exposure.

(KPRC)

Officers believe he is striking between 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. and when Sergeant J.C. Mosier spoke to radio station KRLD 1080, he said revenge is a possible motive. The sergeant recalled, “I do remember many years ago here in Houston, this was going on and it turned out to be a neighbor who was just mad at people for letting their dogs come in his yard and not cleaning up after them. So he decided to get his own little bit of revenge.”

The Woodland Heights neighborhood in Houston, Texas (KPRC)

While some residents, and neighbors (who likely haven’t been hit), are getting a slight chuckle out of the strange situation, the victims are hoping the offender is nabbed quickly. Patrick Reese, a nearby resident said, "It's definitely not a nice thing to do to people. Going bathroom in their driveway is not nice. That's definitely not something that's suppose to go on in polite society." Fellow neighbor Aimee Parsons told KPRC, "This is our neighborhood. Whatever people might think should go on around here, pooping is not okay. We don't want dogs pooping in our yards why would we want a human? It is very strange."

A still image from the surveillance footage that recorded the suspect. (KPRC)

After the surveillance footage aired on local TV, authorities received calls from people who think they know who the suspect is. Mosier believes that with their increased patrols, authorities will likely find the suspect in the next few days and he will be arrested. Even though he said the crime is more of a nuisance than dangerous, Sgt. Mosier added, “Who knows? You don’t know who the person is. You have to worry about anybody that would go to this extreme to do something, no matter what the reason. So, you don’t know what a person like that is capable of.”

Video, audio and more info: KPRC, KRLD 1080

Society & CultureCrime & Justice

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Cops caught busting — a move

Three dancers getting down in a crowd at a carnival: That’s crazy fun. But if those three men are police officers, it’s just crazy.

A video posted by YouTube user MOOF Bulleh titled “Notting Hill Carnival 2013 Police Dance Off" captures three of the community’s finest getting freaky in London. One officer asks the crowd to “make some noise” before they show off their dance moves to an enthusiastic audience that forms a circle around them to watch.

They're wearing their hats and green safety vests and are laden down with all their gear strapped around their waists, but that doesn't get in the way of the dance-off.

In an act that looks somewhat choreographed, the first does a hip wiggle, the second some grinding, and the third shows a hip-hop move. The three then flop to the ground, one behind the other, and mimic rowing a boat to the roar of the crowd.

The video has taken off on the Web, receiving over 500,000 views so far. Reaction as to whether police officers should be engaging with the crowd this way has been mixed.

Over on YouTube, Jade Lapper applauded, “The police joining in for a few minutes and becoming part of the community … does not make them anything but great police officers.”

Peter Wayde on the Standard UK website called the dance “embarrassing and unamusing,” adding, “Just get on with policing.”

But another commenter on the Standard disagreed, saying, “They were just having a laugh. Lighten up.”

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Don't get caught using eco-friendly light bulbs in Glenn Beck's office

Do anything to combat global warming in Glenn Beck’s office? You’re fired.

To prove his case against global warming, which Beck labels a “load of socialist, communist crap,” the right-wing talk-show host announced his war against energy-efficient light bulbs.

On air, he asked a staffer to write a memo that threatened to fire anyone caught using one. The YouTube video of the moment was picked up by Grist.

"I'm dead serious," Beck said on his radio program, as his employees titter nervously. "I fire the person that starts to purchase fluorescent light bulbs, unless that is the only light bulb for a very specific reason, and I want to be cc'd on what that reason is." How about to light a dark room? Is that reason enough?

But Beck’s vendetta against eco-friendly office supplies doesn’t end there. He told one worker not to purchase any more recyclable spoons, either.

“If anyone does anything in this company because of global warming, they’re fired,” he said. He’s OK with saving trees, though. Except for writing all those memos.

Perhaps Beck didn’t get the memo that a majority of Americans believe climate change is real.

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Inmate’s daring jailbreak caught on camera

An inmate in an Arkansas jail executed a daring escape that was captured on film by a pair of security cameras.

KARK 4 News reports that Derrick Estell, 33, who was arrested in March on charges of armed robbery and car theft, managed to slip from custody when he climbed through an open window inside Garland County Jail in Hot Springs, Ark.

In the dramatic footage, Estell crawls through a window and then races out through the front of the jail while a group of onlookers watch. He was using the cover of speaking on the telephone when he suddenly lunged through the open window.

An officer quickly follows him through the window, but Estell jumps into a waiting getaway car in the jail parking lot.

A second security camera outside the jail shows Estell racing through the parking lot with the officer trailing behind him.

A statement from the Garland County Sheriff’s Office said Estell should be considered "armed, dangerous and extremely aggressive."

"Due to his violent history and the fact that he has always been located with weapons, we have to assume that this time will be no different," Lt. James Martin told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Estell allegedly used fellow inmate William Harding to distract two officers while Estell makes his escape.

The getaway car was found abandoned in a parking lot shortly after the escape. Harding has since been arrested for allegedly helping Estell escape, but Estell and his getaway driver, who police say is Tamara Upshaw, remain at large.

Arkansas police say they have launched a manhunt to find Estell, who at the time of his arrest was being charged with 26 offenses.

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Dozens of climbers caught in the middle of deadly volcanic eruption

A picture of Mount Mayon volcano during the eruption of deadly Tuesday (Allan Impérial/AP) were killed five mountain climbers and others injured when a sudden volcanic eruption in the Philippines sent down rocks "as big as automobiles."

"I heard a sound like a sudden drop of coconuts. Then I heard the noise of the waterfall of rocks. But the dense fog clouding us that time we blinded from seeing debris falling, "21-year-old Mountaineer and guide Kenneth Jesalva Philippine Star said in an interview from hospital bed.

Nearly 30 mountaineers were taking part in a trek in the basin of the Mayon volcano, which is located on the Philippine island of Luzon. Despite its tragic outcome, Tuesday's eruption was not considered out of the ordinary, having erupted an estimated 48 times in the past 400 years, according to Renato Solidum, Chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and seismology.

Many climbers who were not wounded in the blast remained stranded at the top of the mountain of 8,070 feet tall and were awaiting rescue by helicopter and rope.

"The wounded are all foreigners ... can not walk," Albay provincial gov. Joey Salceda said. "If you can imagine, there are no boulders as big as cars. Some of them slipped and rolled down. We will rappel the rescue team, and they rappel again. "

That Mayon volcano is the stuff of local legend, with Philippine folklore telling a love story Romeo and Juliet type that surrounds two individual who committed suicide at the base of the volcano.

But the recent history of the volcano is far from a love affair, with a series of deadly eruptions that take place.

More recently, 2010 eruption briefly sent thousands of nearby residents running for cover. In 2006, an eruption and accompaniment of rains caused a lahar (mudslide) that killed about 1,266 people. And in February 1993, an equally unexpected eruption from Mayon volcano killed 77 local farmers.

Salceda said that he plans to ban any future climbs up the mountain, which has remained a popular destination despite the regular eruption. There is also a trail that leads to the heart of the climbers from the volcano crater. That trail is reportedly littered with rocks and other debris from past eruptions.

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