Weird NorCal Crime News: The 'Cotton Ball Bandit,' Rabbit Wielding Woman and More

Written by Alex Gronke

Dog Doesn’t Like Drunks

A man who needed the hair of the dog ended up getting the tooth. Alameda police recently responded to a call of a man getting bit by a dog after poking it in the eye. Yes, the man was drunk. Yes, he deserved it.

Put Down the Rabbit Ma’am

Police in Watsonville arrested a woman who was allegedly harassing people on the street by swinging a dead rabbit in their direction. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the 31-year-old woman put down the rabbit when confronted by police.

The “Cotton Ball Bandit” Strikes Again

Despite a propensity for staring straight into surveillance cameras and a signature hat affixed with a pom-pom on top, law enforcement in Marin County have failed to capture the man they’ve dubbed the “Cotton Ball Bandit.” One day after authorities released video images of the bank robber, a man wearing a brown knit cap with a pom-pom robbed a bank in San Rafael. The cops think it was the “Cotton Ball Bandit’s” sixth heist.

Snake Scammers Hit the Road

Perhaps thinking that they’d earned too much infamy in the Bay Area, the so-called snake scammers took their ruse to Roseville last week. A hapless couple in Roseville noticed items missing from their home after being visited by a woman claiming to be an animal control official searching for venomous snakes led the pair into their own backyard. The con artist measured a shed and said that a colleague would return later with traps to catch the snakes. In fact, an accomplice was in the house pilfering valuables. The snakes are still on the loose.

Bad Lieutenant

It’s not as inventive as the snake scam, but the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department is warning residents not to wire money to a Lieutenant Stevens offering by phone to remove an arrest warrant in exchange for cash. A number of people have fallen for the con, according to the sheriff’s spokesman, who added that the department ‘does not have a policy of requesting payments to clear arrest warrants over the phone.”