A rail way to make some money

Thieves in Palatka made off with more than 600 feet of rail lines the Palatka Daily News reports.

Authorities are under the impression that whoever took the heavy metal worked over the course of a couple of days cutting the rail into five foot sections in order to remove the thousands of pounds of steel. Depending on what type of rail it is, a three foot section could weigh between 80 to 140 pounds.

Investigators asked scrap yards to be on alert.

Not sure if this one counts as a cold case

Never underestimate what someone will do for a Klondike bar. Especially in Florida. In the heat of summer.
Four young men in Palatka were charged with stealing more than $700 in ice cream and ice cream accessories according to the Palatka Daily News.

Maybe they were doing it for pregnant girlfriends? In addition to the 36 frozen fruit bars, 60 ice cream bars, flavoring syrup and cans of soda the thieves also absconded with a box of pickles.

But talk about sticky fingers, authorities discovered a bottle of flavoring syrup at a friend of one of the thieves’ house. When they found the rest of the cold goods at another friend’s house authorities roped the area off as a crime scene.

Sheriff kills keg

Running for elected office is never easy. Take the case of Putnam County Sheriff Dean Kelly.

The Palatka Daily News reports that at a community forum, Kelly, who is running for reelection, was confronted about the rumor he shot a full keg of beer. What's worse (technically) is he did not file a discharge of weapon form.

Kelly set the record straight.

On patrol in a small town near Palatka one night he saw a number of cars parked along State Road 19 for a party. Kelly called a street supervisor for backup. The two officers crashed the shindig, sending 125 people, mostly underage, scattering to about 60 to 70 cars.

That left Kelly and the other officer, Dixie Cups, a bonfire and a keg of beer.

Kelly fired a shot into the keg, releasing the libation everywhere. He said he did this in hopes the person who bought the beer could be caught after turning in the keg shell. Kelly said he called the distributor a few weeks after the incident but no luck finding the buyer.

“You can question these methods if you want, but we sent a strong message: We are not putting up with alcohol in our juveniles.”

As far as not filing a report after discharging his weapon, Kelly said the rule was designed and approved by him to track violent cases. He said he used executive privilege when he decided to file one.

High-stakes poker turned very deadly

Several Palatka area men gathered at a former jook joint to play high-stakes poker last Friday night. One of the men lost heavily and left. But authorities say he came back later in the evening intent on collecting his losses. When they arrived Saturday morning, the owner of the place and his daughter found three of the poker players lying on the floor, dead from gunshot wounds, the Palatka Daily News reports. "The room had blood everywhere," said the daughter about the grisly scene.

Yeah, but which one was the real wrong turn?

The suspect tried to rob a convenience store but the clerk called 911, so the man left. Then he tried to rob another convenience store, but one of the clerks called him by name and suggested his objective was not wise. So he left, the Palatka Daily News reports. By this time Palatka Police were alerted, and an officer spotted the suspect's gold car. The officer followed him as he made numerous turns trying to avoid being stopped. Finally, the suspect turned into a parking lot, where the officer caught up with him. The suspect made a convenient stop. He was in the parking lot of the Putnum County Sheriff's Office. Police officers arrested the man and walked him across the parking lot to the Putnam County Jail.

The safe in a shopping cart gave him away

Workers at the Putnam Hotel notice something peculiar about one of their guests: He was pushing a safe through the lobby in a shopping cart. Frederick Michael Watson, 57, said he found it, the Orlando Sentinel reports. He also denied kicking in the door of a nearby apartment (which was also suspicious since no one had mentioned that the door had been kicked in). Watson was arrested on burglary charges. And the safe is being tested for drugs after a drug-sniffing dog smelled something suspicious.

Man on a riding mower charged with DUI

A Crescent City man driving a 12-hp riding lawn mower on a highway was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, the Palatka Daily News reports. When a Putnam deputy pulled him over, he was slumped over the steering wheel, surrounded by beer cans.