Strange Crime Round-Up

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 3, 2009 4:40PM

We don't know what the hell is going on around town lately, if it's something in the water, but a trio of unusual crimes - including a pair of attacks against authorities - caught our attention.

• A man was arrested early this morning after threatening firefighters with a knife. Ronnie Brown, 47, apparently entered the fire station at 10 N. Leavitt and jumped on a fire engine as it prepared to depart to answer a call. He then began threatening two firefighters and when a third talked him off the truck, he threatened that firefighter. The three then apprehended Brown. He's been charged with three counts of aggravated assault and one count each of unlawful use of a weapon and criminal trespassing. [CBS 2]
• Monday evening, a man caught in an attempted burglary injured two police officers when he attacked them with an electric saw; neither suffered life-threatening injuries. The incident occurred in the 8200 block of South Halsted Street. When the police officers responded to the call of the burglary, they were allegedly attacked by Keith McClarity, 56, who was wielding the electric saw. McClarity has been charged with two counts each of battery and aggravated battery to a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest. [Sun-Times]
• Traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway was halted early this morning by a dancing woman. At around 3:20 a.m. this morning, State Police were called to the Eisenhower near South Laramie Avenue where they found a woman halting traffic because she was dancing across all three westbound lanes of the expressway. Police safely took the woman into custody and took her to Loretto Hospital for observation. The Eisenhower was reopened around 3:40 a.m. [FOX 32]