Judge Orders Men to Dress in Drag
— -- Ohio Men Get Dressing Down From Judge
COSHOCTON, Ohio — Don't cross Municipal Court Judge David Hostetler, or you may end up cross-dressing.
After convicting two men of throwing beer bottles and denting a car, Hostetler gave Jason Householder, 23, and John Stockum, 21, a choice between 60 days in jail or an hour-long walk down Main Street wearing dresses, make up and wigs.
Both decided that putting on women's clothing would be less of a drag than wearing jailhouse orange jumpsuits, and served their punishment last Friday.
Householder chose a basic black ensemble that the fashion police might approve: a black skirt and coat and a black wig. Stockum wore a red wig, a red dress and a fur coat.
"It was pretty good," said deputy court clerk Rhonda Wright. "You couldn't get up and down Main Street [because of the crowd watching them].
The felonious fashion parade was cut short however, when a spectator threw a soda bottle at them, hitting one.
The assailant was arrested and Householder and Stockum were allowed to end their walk.
It isn't the first time Hostetler has found creative ways to punish wrongdoers. Wright remembers when Hostetler sentenced young vandals convicted of throwing eggs, he ordered them to write 'I will not throw eggs' 1,000 times, and donate eggs to a local charity. He also ordered car vandals to auction off some possessions to pay for the damage they caused.
The judge noted that over-crowding local jails had inspired him to consider unusual alternative sentences.
When sentencing Householder and Stockum, Hostetler said, "Throwing the beer bottles put them across the line and into my clutches."
You Are What You Wear
SAN DIEGO — Some fugitives try to blend in with the general public to avoid detection; Richard Hansen chose to wear an orange shirt with the word 'Fugitive' printed on it in large block letters.
Hansen, a registered sex offender wanted for leaving a Chula Vista, Calif., halfway house, was spotted in Embarcadero Marina Park late Saturday night — wearing his 'Fugitive' shirt.
"It was just a shirt that he had," said Lt. Ken Franke of the San Diego Harbor Police. "It's so bizarre."
Officer Laura Tosatto spotted Hansen and stopped him. She checked his record and discovered he was indeed a fugitive.
The 25-year-old was booked on suspicion of violating parole.
"It doesn't get much easier," Franke remarked.
Undressed at the Wrong Address
LA CROSSE, Wisc. — Maybe he left the address in his pants pocket.
Robin McCain planned to make an impression at a friend's party by streaking naked around the house, police say. But apparently he wound up on the wrong block.
McCain took his clothes off in the alley behind what he thought was his friend's home, said Lt. Bob Berndt. McCain realized when he got to the front of the house, he wasn't where he thought he was.
"He'd been drinking," noted Berndt.
The 23-year-old was arrested last Tuesday after Pine Street residents complained of a naked man running through their neighborhood. The party was actually on nearby Vine Street. McCain hid in the bushes and tried to get back to his clothing, but alarmed neighbors spotted him and called police.
"Apparently he had done that some other time and it got big laughs," said Berndt. "Unfortunately he got in the wrong area."
Eventually he gave up hiding from police, and was charged with disorderly conduct.