There are a lot of crazy people out there in this world, but a couple of guys from Carroll, Iowa, just moved straight to the top of the list.

Some people are calling them the “Sharpie Marker Bandits.”

The men, Matthew Allan McNelly, 23, and Joey Lee Miller, 20, are making headlines across the globe, but it’s probably for something they’re rather forget.

It isn’t their alleged crimes that made them famous. No, it’s their brilliant disguises that earned them headlines like “The Mark of Stupidity.”

They tried to black out their faces with permanent marker. Although there are many jokes to be made about this, I’ll just say they need to go back to art school.

Someone told me it looks like McNelly was trying to draw a cat mask. You can see the ears on his forehead if you look hard enough, but I think it looks more like Batman.

Trying to decipher what they drew is kind of like cloud watching.

Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler, who was interviewed this week by CNN, told me the whole thing started the night of Oct. 23 when officers were called to an attempted burglary at an apartment in Carroll.

Four people inside an apartment reported two men wearing black hooded sweatshirts with black faces were pounding on the door trying to get inside.

There may have been some yelling, he said, adding police believe the whole thing may have started over a girl.

The two suspects left the apartment without getting inside and, lucky for them, a police officer happened to be about three blocks away.

Although the McNelly and Miller weren’t accused of a horrendous crime, the person who called police said they may have been wearing holsters.

When police hear “holsters” they assume that means the suspects could be armed.

As a result, McNelly and Miller (who didn’t have holsters or weapons) were taken from their car at gunpoint.

McNelly was arrested on charges of operating while intoxicated – first offense and attempted second-degree burglary, both Class D felonies. Miller was arrested on a charge of attempted second-degree burglary.

Both men pleaded not guilty.

Cayler, who’s been with the department 28 years, says he’s never seen anything like this before, joking that the disguise was “foolproof and reusable.”

“That particular disguise is a new one for me,” he said.

McNelly and Miller’s amazing mug shots made headlines across the world. People have plenty to say about it, too. So far, one of my favorites can be found on the KCCI.com web site.

Several Sioux City residents have filed suit against the city in an attempt to keep their dogs, all declared vicious, from being euthanized.

This is new. Although people have owned dogs for as long as there’s been a Sioux City, those involved say they can’t remember anyone actually filing suit to save their dogs.

We asked the Siouxland District Health Department for dog-bite data in order to make sure this wasn’t due to an increase in the number of dog bites.

It wasn’t, but the data did have a few surprises.

In addition to tracking bites from typical suspects (dogs and cats), Siouxland District Health also lists other animals that bite.

Usually, this includes bats, squirrels, raccoons, gerbils, hamsters, rats, rabbits, and maybe a mouse or two.

Or a lemur.

That’s right, someone in Sioux City reported getting bit by a lemur.

I only know two things about lemurs. First, they are adorable. Two, they are from Madagascar – not Iowa.

Details are sketchy, but Siouxland District Health’s Chuck Cipperley said it happened this summer while at an exotic animal show.

“It was just a baby lemur,” Cipperley said. “I had to go to the internet to see what it looked like, too.”

A company from Nebraska was showing a baby lemur to spectators when the furry little creature hopped out of its handler’s arms.

“It just jumped down and they thought maybe it touched somebody’s hand,” Cipperley said.

Although the animal didn’t outright attack somebody, officials thought it would be best to quarantine the lemur just to be on the safe side.

It cleared the required 10-day quarantine without any problems and, presumably, went back to Nebraska without incident.

But not before going down in the record books as the first recorded lemur bite in Sioux City’s history.

It isn’t unusual for a fugitive to cross state lines to avoid police, but very few of them are brave enough to plunge into the Missouri River.

Especially if that fugitive is a wayward cow.

That’s what police say happened this afternoon when a young bovine led officers on a tri-state cow chase.

It started somewhere in Union County, South Dakota, when three cows escaped from their owner.

Two of them were caught (one was tranquilized) before they could skip out of the state, but Sioux City police said a younger animal could not be contained and made its way to the walking path on Sioux City’s riverfront.

Sioux City Police Sgt. Mike Post said officers took an observational role, watching while the owner/helpers tried to catch the animal.

It jumped into the Missouri River near the boat ramp by the Hilton Garden Inn – and somehow made it across to Nebraska.

“We did observe him get into the river and swim – without our assistance,” Post said. “He did it on his own.”

This may sound a little dramatic, but maybe the cow heard stories about what happens to naughty cows that run away from home in Sioux City.

I joke, but in all fairness to police, the Macho incident in Sioux City involved a full-grown bull in a residential neighborhood, whereas Thursday’s incident involved a half-grown calf running through the woods along the river.

Although it jumped into the river around mid-afternoon, South Sioux City police didn’t deal with the cow until about 8:30 p.m.

By that time, South Sioux City Police Sgt. Chris Chernock said the animal appeared injured in the “driver’s side, left rear.”

It became frightened and jumped back into the river before the owner or police could capture it, although Chernock didn’t think the animal’s second swim would be as successful as its first.

South Sioux City police lost sight of the animal when he was in the middle of the river. Chernock said the current was moving the animal in two directions – across and downstream — as it swam toward Iowa.

“He didn’t look like he was going to do too well,” he said.

Unable to help myself, I asked Chernock if he ever thought about calling in “the big guns” to deal with the cow.

Not for a second, he said.

“It’s been a while since anyone’s been hurt or injured in a one-cow stampede.”

ELK MOUND, Wis. — Wisconsin authorities say a South Sioux City man was injured this week in a head-on collision that killed a Wisconsin woman.

*According to a statement issued Wednesday by the Dunn Co. (Wis) Sheriff’s Office, Jennifer Annis, 33, of rural Mondovi, Wis., was driving north on Highway 40 and crossed into the path of a southbound vehicle driven by Donald Maul, 60, of South Sioux City.

The accident happened about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday in Elk Mound Township, which is in western Wisconsin about 70 miles from St. Paul, Minn.

Maul was taken to a hospital in Eau Claire with non life threatening injuries. Annis was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are still investigating the accident.

*In the original blog post about this incident, Donald Maul was incorrectly identified as the one who pulled in front of the female driver.

HINTON, Iowa — Please don’t panic if you see a fleet of local, state and federal emergency vehicles crammed into the downtown Hinton on Saturday.

I can’t blame anyone for being curious. People have plenty of time to notice things in Hinton because they have to brake down to a crawl to get through there on Highway 75 without getting pulled over for speeding.

But I can honestly say don’t worry: It’s probably just a drill.

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The crime blog has been lacking a little lately, but those following my Journal Twitter account can tell you they’re still getting their crime news fix.

Several Sioux City Journal reporters and me, as well as the Journal itself, post regular updates on twitter accounts.

It’s free, pretty fun and more local people are using it than you might think. Twelve staffers at the Journal tweet on a regular basis.
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SIOUX CITY — Police say a 17-year-old boy was recently arrested for hitting an 80-year-old man with a garbage can outside a Sioux City bar.

What they don’t know is if the teen meant to hit him or if the man happened to be in front of the wrong bar at the wrong time.

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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Police say two pet baby snakes escaped from a 20-year-old man’s pants pockets as he was driving, leading to a car crash in Hartford, Conn.

Police say Angel Rolon, of New Britain, lost control of his SUV on Monday when the snakes slithered near the gas and brake pedals and he and a passenger tried to catch them. Police say the SUV veered into some parked cars and overturned.

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A 24-year-old Rock Rapids woman left her vehicle running Saturday as she went into a Dollar General store in Rock Rapids. The car jumped the curb and crashed into the store’s front door, according to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.

Heather Rose Wilkerson parked the running vehicle in front of  the Dollar General store at 205 S. Story St. and the vehicle, a 1995 Dodge Intrepid, followed by jumping the curb and striking the front door of the store.

No one was hurt, but the door received about $4,000 in damage and the car had $500 in damage.

Wilkerson was cited for parking without stopping the engine, a simple misdemeanor.

A Sioux City man faces multiple charges after police say he drove drunk with his 6-year-old nephew in the car.

Sioux City Police Sgt. Mike McCormick said Lucas Bryan Treetop, 26, was driving 11 miles over the speed limit when he was stopped by police about 1:30 a.m. Friday morning

According to the Woodbury Jail booking log, Treetop was arrested for a felony charge of neglect of a dependent person.

He also was booked on misdemeanor charges of operating while intoxicated, open container violation, driving without a license, driving without insurance and speeding.

Police say Treetop’s 6-year-old nephew was in the vehicle with him, but was not injured in the incident.