America's Dumbest Criminals - Season 1, Episode 11 - Skunk Driver - Full Episode | Forensic Files

DANIEL BUTLER: This is an ADC warning. The crimes you're about to see are true. Only the names were changed to protect the ignorant.
[music and sirens] DANIEL BUTLER: Tonight on "America's Dumbest Criminals," a DUI with a W-I-F-E, a comically disabled criminal,
and a traffic temper that goes wrong. These are just a few of "America's Dumbest Criminals."
Welcome to "America's Dumbest Criminals." I'm Daniel Butler. You know, very often as we examine the criminal plan more
closely, we find that there is no plan to examine. You're about to meet those planners, the elite
of the criminally inept, as we open the files on "America's Dumbest Criminals." Our first story is about a dumb criminal
who hung around way too long. -A former police officer owns a store up here on Parkway East.
And uh, they got robbed. And uh, the clerk said that the first guy that was in there
was doing all the talking and everything. -The money and nobody gets hurt! Come on, come on, come on!
-[inaudible] -Let's go, let's go! Come on, come on, come on! OFFICER ED LEACH: He did all the talking,
took the money and everything and left out. But he forgot the other robber was still inside.
-Come on! Up, up, up, up, up! Up, up, up! Come on, come on, come on! OFFICER ED LEACH: And so they came back inside to get him,
said, come on, let's go. Let's get out of here, 'cause so-and-so's out here waiting for us.
And so he started back out the door. And so the guy's still sitting there mumbling, holding
a pistol up, saying something, looking around the store. So they had to come back in a third time you know,
to finally get him out of there and take him off. And that's how the clerk identified him.
DANIEL BUTLER: So he just forgot to leave the scene of the crime. In Ohio, it used to be against the law for a woman
to be a bellhop. She can, however, legally do a belly flop. And now a case we call "Skunk Driver"
from Wilton Manors, Florida. OFFICER SHAWN CHADWICK: I was driving up 26th Street one day
and I saw a man and a woman uh, going up the road in a car. He was kinda all over the road.
And he didn't have a seat belt on. Neither did she. So I pulled them over, and he started getting real indignant
with me as to, as to why I pulled him over. Asking me, you know, uh, you know, I-- telling me
that he didn't do anything wrong and wanted to know why the hell I pulled him over.
And he's pretty nasty about it. -Here man. Here's the license, all right? Don't you see I'm minding my own business?
Don't-- hanging out with my lady, trying to have a nice time. I'm a tax paying citizen!
Can I do that? -I wasn't getting anywhere with him. So I, I asked to talk to her.
And as I'm talking to her, he still keeps yelling at me. And so I, I said to, to her--
-Ma'am, what's wrong with him? WOMAN: Never mind! -She said, "Never mind him. He always acts like that when he's drinking."
MAN: [laughs] -What? What the, wait a minute! The hell you mean drinking? WOMAN: You are on my last nerve!
-What are you talking about? WOMAN: You are on my last nerve! -That don't make any sense at all!
[interposing voices] DANIEL BUTLER: And now actual surveillance camera footage of a dumb criminal who dropped the ball.
And the gun. The man shown here had robbed four banks successfully. In each one he was armed, but no one was hurt.
Then finally, just after his fourth successful bank robbery, he made the mistake of choosing to rob a grocery store.
When he robbed the manager and he bent down to pick up the bag of money, his gun dropped from his hand,
slid across the floor right to the manager, who picked up the dumb criminal's gun and held it on him.
He was arrested, taken away, and convicted, and he'll be away for the rest of his life.
And now a man who is about to learn not to throw temper tantrums. The hard way. OFFICER ROBERT FANNIN: We were uh,
working in unmarked cars and plainclothes. And we'd just left the precinct out of roll call
and this person just pulled right out in front of us, running a red light. So we pulled up to the next red light with him,
and we had a handheld blue light that you put on top of the roof of the car. But I just put it in my hand and turned to the guy and I said--
-You need to watch the lights! OFFICER ROBERT FANNIN: Well, he kinda got mad at us.
And he started cussing at us and mouthing off and shooting us the bird. And I just turned and I said, "Sir, just watch the lights."
Well, he reached under his seat, pulled out a gun. -You watch this! That's right! Run, you bunch of hillbillies!
-Go, go, go, go! OFFICER ROBERT FANNIN: He kinda pointed to us and said, "Why don't you all come
back here and tell me what to do?" So you know, he didn't know who he was pointing the gun to.
So all three of us jumped out. He saw all these badges. And he just threw that gun almost through the window,
put his hands through the ceiling almost. And his eyes were so big. I ended up putting him under arrest
right in the middle of the street. -Down! Down! DANIEL BUTLER: Interesting how the man's face
went from red to yellow to green. ADC Quiz number 1702. A Texas man, convicted of robbery,
worked out a deal to pay $9,600 in damages in lieu of jail time. Did he A, renege and skip town?
B, write the court a forged check? Or C, rob a bank to pay it off? The correct answer is B. He wrote the court a forged check.
His third mistake was trying to escape from the fourth floor of the Lubbock Courthouse on a bicycle.
Coming up, a dumb criminal who has his application denied and his summer vacation foiled.
DANIEL BUTLER: Welcome back. Our next case is from Denver, and we call it "K-911."
A guy had the bright idea to rob a market. Everything went according to plan except the part
he didn't plan. He robbed the clerk at gunpoint, then he started to run back to his truck with the money.
But as he ran to jump in, his dog jumped out. The dog ran around and the robber could not coax him back into the truck.
With the police on the way, he was forced to leave the scene of the crime without his dog.
[engine starting] -So this guy comes in. Goofy looking guy. Bad hat, big thick glasses.
Hits me for about $200, goes to jump in his truck, and his dog jumps out. That, that's his dog!
POLICE OFFICER: Good boy. DANIEL BUTLER: Sure enough, the dog wouldn't come back
to the dumb criminal, but it would come back to the police. And his name and address was on the dog's tag.
Maybe the dog should take this guy to obedience school. In Texas, it used to be against the law for more than one train
to cross at the same crossing at the same time. Unless of course, one train was being pulled
by a team of lovely waitresses serving hot wings. J.D. Roberts of Brunswick, Georgia
had just led a successful raid in which hundreds of pounds of pot were confiscated.
As Officer Roberts stood in the driveway behind a marked car, a pickup truck pulled up.
-I think he's still selling. Is he still selling in there? -Sure. -Cool! -Right on around back.
DANIEL BUTLER: The two men had just asked narcotics agents with "Police" stenciled on their backs
if the man was still selling dope. They sent them around to the back door. -We got a buyer coming back.
Hang on. -You're kidding me. [laughs] CRIMINAL: Hey, Mike? Hey. -Hey! -Where's Mike?
-Guys! Uh, Mike? Mike stepped out for a while. Uh, but I think I got what you need.
-Cool. -Yeah, uh-- -Oh man! -How's this look? -Check this out! -You like that? -It's killer, man.
-[laughs] -Smell that. -Smells good, doesn't it? -Yeah! How much you got of this?
-Um, got all of this. How much you got? -Got $60. -How much? -$60. -That'll do. -[laughs] Great, man.
Here you go. -Yeah, OK. -Good. Yeah, take some more. -Thanks! -Yeah. DANIEL BUTLER: They arrested the men, confiscated their pickup,
and impounded it in the backyard, when another vehicle pulled up. -Just leave your car here and we'll take care of it for you.
DANIEL BUTLER: The entire thing was being captured by surveillance camera. -Right on around back there.
-Watch my car now, all right? -Yep. -Hey! -Hey. -Does uh, Mike still sell? -Oh yeah, got it right there.
DANIEL BUTLER: The police could not get away from the house. They came on bicycles, they came in cars,
they came in pickup trucks, they came on foot. But they came to buy. Each vehicle was confiscated and each buyer
arrested, until the backyard was almost full. -Hey! Uh, Mike still around back? -Yeah.
Yeah, he's around [inaudible]. You better hurry. -Oh, thanks. DANIEL BUTLER: The police arrested 35 people,
impounded 12 cars, two trucks-- -Hey, are Tommy and Mike still selling? -Yeah. Right around back.
I can hold your board for you if you like. -No way. -OK. DANIEL BUTLER: And a skateboard.
Now, actual surveillance cam footage of one of the dumbest groups of dumb criminals in America.
What do all these people caught on surveillance camera have in common? They all applied for disability, but then
were caught on tape hard at work. This man was paralyzed. His back pain was so great, he couldn't even
set foot out of bed. But there he is, carrying heavy pipe and digging a ditch. This man could also not even lift
a phone because of his pain, and yet he could do your muffler work. This woman couldn't even hold a coffee cup.
But she could move a load of hay. And this man was a roofer, but he said he could never work again.
Until they caught him on video tape. Next up, David Hunter tells us about an unusual job applicant.
-Young man walked into the Knox County Sheriff's Department. He had applied for a job as a security guard
and he'd been given a piece of paper to fill out to show he had no criminal history.
When the clerk put his name and birthday into the computer, a warrant for armed robbery popped out.
-Is something wrong? OFFICER DAVID HUNTER: Young man apparently realized that something was wrong.
--[whispers] What's going on here? OFFICER DAVID HUNTER: So he fled on foot. But another officer on his way to work
saw the vehicle pull into traffic. When he got him stopped, had him on the ground of course,
in a felony stop, cuffed him. And as they got into the car, he turned around to the officer and he said--
-What'd you get me for this time? OFFICER DAVID HUNTER: Well, when you uh, filed for a job
at the station, we found an armed robbery warrant for you. -Is that all? Uh, can I still get a job?
OFFICER DAVID HUNTER: I don't think so. -Oh man! There goes another summer! DANIEL BUTLER: That's right.
No summer camp. Summer work house. In Massachusetts, it used to be against the law
to walk across the street. However, flying like a bat was allowed. [crash] DANIEL BUTLER: And now, inside the courtroom
for trial and error. An officer on the witness stand describes how a diversion tactic really backfires on some dumb criminals.
-Officer Monroe, how did you apprehend the defendants? -Well ma'am, we never would have if it
hadn't been for the crowds. -Crowds? -Yes, ma'am. When the perpetrators exited the crime scene,
they attempted to create a diversion by throwing some of the stolen cash from the window of the van.
-Did that work? -Well, not really. Because you know, soon after that, they were mobbed by angry people trying
to get their hands on some more of the cash. -There you have it. -Yes ma'am. There you have it.
[gavel strike] DANIEL BUTLER: When we come back, a dumb criminal who wasn't very photogenic.
On "America's Dumbest Criminals." DANIEL BUTLER: Welcome back. Thomas Pennington of Las Vegas, Nevada
proves that being a desk sergeant is not all that boring. -I was working the desk as desk sergeant downtown at City Hall.
This guy walks into the desk and he says that the detectives were by his house and he didn't know why, why they was there.
And hadn't he supposed to contact them? And I go, well, I don't know which detectives, you know.
Uh, who was that? And they go-- -They were narcotic detectives. -Really? -Yeah. -What makes you think that?
-Ah, see I was a little trouble in California. But I haven't been in any trouble in Nevada.
So you shouldn't be looking for me! OFFICER THOMAS PENNINGTON: And I go, well, hold tight
and I'll see. -What's your name? OFFICER THOMAS PENNINGTON: What's your name? He gave me his name and stuff and I go,
I'll call over the detective. And I called over the narcotics detectives and then they go, Tom, grab this guy!
He's got a million dollar warrant for his arrest in California. And then I go, well here.
The detective wants to talk to you. And now as he's talking to the detective, he's sort of engrossed in the phone call.
And I walk around from the desk and around behind this guy, and everybody else is standing around in the desk.
-Oh well, well thank you. It's about time somebody apologized! -Put your hands on the desk.
-What the hell's going on? -You're under arrest, [inaudible]. -What? What am I under arrest for?
OFFICER THOMAS PENNINGTON: Well, you had a million, million dollar warrant for your arrest in California.
He goes-- -But this is Nevada! What? Damn! OFFICER THOMAS PENNINGTON: He just couldn't seem to understand that,
because he, he was dealing drugs in California and had a warrant in California, didn't seem to comprehend
that we could arrest him here in Nevada. -Out of state, out of mind. In Vermont, it used to be against the law to drop rocks
from an airplane without permission. But you could pick up maple syrup from a convertible
without asking. Mike Thompson of Pensacola tells us about a dumb criminal who can't say cheese head.
-Several years ago, I was assigned to the uh, Armed Robbery and Burglary Task Force here
at the Pensacola Police Department. And we received a call that there was a burglary
in progress at a residence on the west side of town. And shortly after ent-entering the residence,
I noticed that they had a uh, uh, an alarm system that activated when you broke the light beam
and it makes a clicking noise. So I went on to the back of the house and shined my light underneath the uh, bed in the bedroom.
And I saw tennis shoe soles facing me and uh, as if the suspect was laying down underneath the bed.
-Tommy? Is that you? -Get your hands on top of your head! -Hey Mike, is that you?
-Yes Tommy. And you're under arrest. -After a, a brief discussion, he asked me did,
did a neighbor call in on him? Is that how we caught him? And I said yes, in fact, because I didn't want to disclose the,
the fact that the uh, individual that owned the house had an alarm system, a silent alarm system.
-Well, I, I heard his camera clicking out here. But I didn't give it much thought.
It's too dark out here to take pictures! Guy must be really stupid if he thinks he can take pictures in this light.
-I said, you know, I, I'm sure he never even thought about that [inaudible]. DANIEL BUTLER: In this surveillance cam footage,
an officer proves you can't count on the dumb criminal who can't count. This is a hidden camera of a drug deal going down.
The man on the left is an undercover narcotics officer. The man on the right is a dumb criminal.
Unfortunately, the dumb criminal is the one counting the money. Outside, eight SWAT team members are ready to make the arrest.
As soon as this dumb criminal finishes counting his money. OK, he lost his place again.
Now as soon as this man finishes counting the money, the SWAT team will move in.
OK, OK now I think he's finished counting the money. Yes, OK, he appears to be leaving.
Now the SWAT team comes in, forcing him to use a calculator. You know, we've talked to many policewomen involved
in prostitution stings, and they all tell us the same thing. After the men are arrested, one of the first questions they ask
is, is my wife going to find out? Because most of them are married. But one married man barely had time to ask that question
in a case we call "Wedding Night Blues." -We had one um, a guy drove up-- well dressed in a tux.
DANIEL BUTLER: He was well dressed. And why not? It was his wedding day. Folks, this record breaking winner is a real loser.
-Well, where you off to? -I think he'd been married about four hours. MAN: [laughs]
-And he's on his honeymoon going to get beer and uh, he propositioned me. MAN: [laughs]
-And uh, and we got him. DANIEL BUTLER: I think you'll agree, the honeymoon is definitely over.
And this criminal is one of America's dumbest husbands. [sirens and music playing]
DANIEL BUTLER: In Pensacola, Florida, a dumb criminal picked himself out of a lineup.
-We had an informant that uh, supplied us with a lot of information and would call us whenever he knew
something that was fixing to go down that we were interested in. And one day, we went out and did some uh, just street level
crack cocaine buys and we were attempting to video all the transactions. Well, most of them came out really good, but got cloudy.
And there was a couple of the buys on there that you didn't have a real good facial
on the suspect, on the criminal. So what I did is I called this informant, told him I needed him to come in and look at some pictures
and see if he could identify these people for me. And uh, he comes and I plug in these video tapes,
and the first one he looks at, he said, "Man, how'd you all get me on camera?" -Oh man! [laughing] How'd you all get me on camera?
Man, that's me! Check that out! Hey, you know what? I look good enough to be on "Cops," don't I?
-Yeah! -That's the homeboy! UNDERCOVER OFFICER: And I look at him, I look at the TV,
and it was him! He was the one selling the dope! The next two videos I pulled out, they were also him.
He identified himself in all three of him. [laughs] So we had to arrest him! That's it.
It was hilarious! And we didn't have a, we did not have a clue that that was him til he identified himself.
-As always, we're out of time before we're out of crime. Our thanks to the men and women of law enforcement.
Until next time, I'm Daniel Butler saying, don't be dumb. Don't break the law. We'll catch you, next time on "America's Dumbest Criminals."
Goodnight. [music playing]

In this episode of "America's Dumbest Criminals," we'll witness a D.U.I. with a W.I.F.E., a comically disabled criminal and a traffic temper that goes wrong.

Crime is no laughing matter, except when the criminals are bumbling fools. Hosted by Debbie Alan and Daniel Butler, this show looks at lawbreakers through a humorous lens.

Brief Summary

This episode highlights various dumb criminal antics, including a DUI incident and a robbery gone wrong.

Key points

America's Dumbest Criminals. A humorous look at the blunders of inept criminals.
The Robber Who Forgot His Partner. A robber leaves his accomplice behind, leading to his capture.
The Dog That Foiled a Robbery. A robber's getaway is thwarted by his own dog.
The Job Applicant with a Warrant. A man applies for a job only to be arrested for armed robbery.
The Criminal Who Identified Himself. A suspect hilariously identifies himself in a lineup.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Only the names were changed to protect the ignorant.

Opening statement about the show.

0:10WatchDec 2, 2021

Tension

40/ 100Low tension

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