Some people will go to great lengths to acquire the latest gaming console, including taking the law into their own hands. As you’ll see from the following top 10 bizarre crimes, these criminals just don’t know where to draw the line.

1. Florida – Thieves burrowed through a wall in the back of a GameStop with a sledge hammer to get their hands on some PS3s; all this just to find that there were none in stock. As a consolation, they took every Xbox in the store.

2. California – Employees forced people waiting inside a Wal-Mart for a PS3 to outside the store. The unhappy gamers rioted through the store knocking items off the shelf and pushing down anyone who stood in their way. The store was forced to call the local police, and shut down for the day.

3. Britain – Organized thieves pursue a truck full of Xbox 360s. They convinced the driver that there was something caught under his wheels, and nearly beat him to death when he pulled over; afterward, stealing the entire truck and Xbox 360s valued at over $1.4 million.

4. Japan – 180 PS3s were stolen from the office of a freight forwarder. The units were to have been shipped to retail stores in Japan, and are valued at over 9.5 million Yen (retail).

5. Unknown – GameStop employees steal 4 PS3s, then call the cops just to lie by saying they were robbed at gunpoint. The 2-19 year old employees face heavy charges like embezzlement, burglary, and conspiracy. If convicted, they will face plenty of jail time.

6. Ohio – Armed burglars break into a home to steal a Playstation 3. They used the controller cord to tie up the victim; after leaving, they discovered they could not play the console without a controller. They returned to the home to untie the victim, and fled.

7. South Carolina – A 12 year old boy was placed under arrest for unwrapping a Game Boy Advance that he was supposed to open on Christmas. The boy was turned in by his frustrated mother who wanted to straighten him out! It’s by far not the worst, but it’s interesting.

8. Florida – An ex-con accused a young woman of taking his Xbox. The man then enlisted 3 teenagers to beat and stab her and 5 others, in the home, to death. The 3 assailants were armed with aluminum baseball bats, and later switched to knives that they obtained from inside the homes. All 4 suspects were charged with first-degree murder.

9. Philadelphia – Tyrone Spellman beat his 17 month old daughter to death after she knocked over his Xbox 360. Tyrone is currently awaiting trial; game over.

10. Georgia – 29 year old Arthur Demaurice pleaded guilty earlier this year to killing his “friend” in a conflict over how to use a Playstation gaming console. Demaurice shot his friend in the chest shortly after an argument on whether music should be played on a Playstation.

It would be unfair to place any blame on the corporations; a criminal will commit crimes in any case; although, In these cases, it just happened to be a video game that set them off. The criminals can only hope the prison they find themselves in offers video games for good behavior.

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Entry was posted on Monday, December 18th, 2006 at 6:16 pm under Uncategorized.

Read more entries by George Gardner.
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