Wasted Daily News

MIAMI – Devotees of a man claiming to practice a traditional African religion said they had to ingest the mucus of a Giant African Snail that sickened them. Federal authorities in January raided the Miami man’s home after receiving complaints. The man has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval.

Experts said it devastates new ecosystems. The snail grows up to 10 inches long, can reproduce on its own and even can even eat plaster. The man said he meant no harm, and his religion uses the snails in healing ceremonies. Followers said they got violently ill, losing weight and developing strange lumps in their stomachs.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – A Florida woman said her love handles saved her life when she was shot entering an Atlantic City bar. Samantha Lynn Frazier said she heard two pops when she walked into Herman’s Place early Saturday. The 35-year-old then felt pain and saw blood on her hand after she grabbed her left side. Atlantic City police said Frazier was an innocent bystander. Read the rest of this entry →

BRONSON, Fla. – Authorities believe a man stole his 28-year-old son’s car and took money from his grandson’s piggy bank. According to a Levy County Sheriff’s Office news release, Ronald Joyner was arrested Monday and charged with grand theft auto and petty theft. Jail records indicate that Joyner was being held on $6,000 bond Tuesday.

Joyner’s son told a deputy that his 2002 silver Kia and his 46-year-old father were both gone when he woke up early Monday morning. The man’s son also said that $50 in change was taken from a piggy bank that belonged to J

VERO BEACH, Fla. – A Vero Beach man faces a domestic violence charge after authorities said he assaulted his girlfriend with a cheeseburger. An Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrest report said a 22-year-old man and his girlfriend got into an argument as they sat in a car in front of their home.

The report said the man would not let the woman out of the vehicle, so she threw his drink out of the car. In response, the man allegedly grabbed her arm and smashed the cheeseburger into her face. The pair got out of the car, and authorities say the man again took the McDonald’s sandwich and put it on her face.

The man was released on $1,000 bond Wednesday.

RACINE, Wis. – A Maltese dog named Max is headed home to Florida after he was spotted in Chicago — 1,000 miles from where he vanished.

Richard Gonzalez had reported a pet theft after Max disappeared several months ago from his daughter’s yard in Brandon, Fla.

Gonzalez says he thought that Max would never get far. But the pooch was identified in Chicago by an implanted microchip. Read the rest of this entry →

LAKELAND, Fla. – When his chief told him there was no money for a new narcotics dog, Polk County Sheriff‘s Deputy John Maney went to the pound, adopted and trained a dog himself.

Maney, who has previously worked as a handler for five canines, turned down several dogs. He focused on ones that showed alertness, lack of fear and an eagerness to learn. He adopted an eleven-month-old black lab mix in March and named him Rezadu.

They trained in abandoned phosphate mine property and open fields for 12 weeks, detecting illegal narcotics.

Rezadu did so well that he was nationally certified in August.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A Florida teenager has been sentenced to 18 months in juvenile detention for coaxing his senile grandmother into holding a gun and threatening to shoot “all the pigs” in a homemade “gangster rap” video.

Eighteen-year-old Michael Alfinez pleaded guilty Tuesday to elder abuse charges. His family has said the case was a misunderstanding. Read the rest of this entry →