The antics of meth addicts
Meth-Heads do the Craziest Things
Whenever I run across a story of somebody doing something really stupid, I look for alcoholism. If it’s really, really stupid, I look for crack cocaine. And if it’s incredibly idiotic, I look for methamphetamine. I’m usually not disappointed. Here’s a classic, which also involved quite a bit of creativity.
“DUH DRUGGIES: The Missouri Highway Patrol says Joseph Seidl, 39, and Michael Sullivan, 41, thought up a great method to ditch a cargo of illegal drugs in case they got pulled over: a 4-foot rocket. The device, the police agency said, was packed with two pounds of methamphetamine and set up in the truck of their car. It was wired to a switch in front; when activated, the trunk would pop open and the rocket would move to a vertical position and take off with the criminal evidence. Sure enough, trooper Tommy Wally pulled the pair over in Callaway County. They flipped the switch — but nothing happened: the drug-dealing duo forgot to plug the rocket in to the car’s power. Seidl and Sullivan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and face up to life in prison and $8 million in fines. What brought them to the attention of the trooper in the first place? They were speeding. (Columbia Tribune) …Obviously they’re no rocket scientists.â€
No, they’re not rocket scientists, but consider this creative genius channeled into more productive endeavors. According to Sara Agnew of the Missouri-based Columbia Tribune (http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Jul/20060706News002.asp), “The rocket was controlled by an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys designed to lift it into an upright position once the trunk was popped from inside the vehicle. The bottom of the 4-foot-long rocket…had eight explosive charges connected by a series of wires to a homemade switch in the front of the car,”which was powered by the cigarette lighter. The bomb squad from the Missouri Highway Patrol said the system was functional but disconnected from its power source. The “rocket”contained two gallon-size Ziploc bags containing two pounds of methamphetamine.
(Story and tagline from “This is True,”copyright 2006 by Randy Cassingham, used with permission. See http://www.thisistrue.com for free subscriptions.)