Patty Leon
Columnist
There are tons of Florida Man stories. Bizarre yet real news stories. But there are also tons of bizarre news stories from residents in the Peach State.
For example, a Wendy’s employee, Amy Seiber, was fired after she “misplaced” her marijuana joint which was later discovered by a customer insider their hamburger. The Lovejoy diner called police and Seiber was later fired and charged with possession of marijuana.
In March 2014 a man made a $30,000 bank deposit, but the teller incorrectly credited the money into the account of a teenager who had the same name. Ten days later, the man noticed the money had not been credited into his account and notified the bank, who realized their error. But by then the teen had noticed the money and had withdrawn most of the cash. The bank called law enforcement and the ten was told to return the money or face charges.
That same year in May, police in Dunwoody arrested Damon Exum after he crashed into the back of a patrol car and offered the officer a beer when asked for his driver’s license. Exum was arrested on eight misdemeanor charges, including DUI and reckless driving. It was Exum’s third DUI arrest.
Deputies in Richmond County confronted Jermaine Lloyd in November 2013 hiding behind a tree, wearing nothing but a pair of high heels and a turban. When police confronted him, he was trying to put on pink panties and took off running to avoid the cops. While running, he dropped a Crown Royal bag which had marijuana and cocaine. Just a week earlier the same man was arrested for DUI after jumping the curb with his car at a shopping center.
A severely intoxicated woman was tossed out of two different diners after she exposed herself and touched and licked other patrons. It happened in 2012 during the SEC Championship game between Georgia and Alabama. Jana Lawrence apparently got so drunk while watching the game at a restaurant that she exposed her breasts, reached over and rubbed the genitals of the woman next to her and then licked her face. After being kicked out, she went to the sports bar next door, where she reportedly exposed her buttocks, licked a man’s tattoo and rubbed two men in the genital area. The women then belittled the arresting officers and threatened to bury them under the jail building.
In July 2012 in Gwinnett County, Matthew Hammond snorted bath salts, ate feces and challenged police to fight when they attempted to arrest him. Hammond threatened the cops with a knife and in return they drew their weapons and Hammond promptly dropped the knife.
Same month, same year at a bar in Augusta, a guy bets that he can set his head on fire and wins after he poured Bacardi 151 on his head and a “friend” lit his head on fire. The stunt, caught on the bar’s video camera, showed William Bonner frantically running around searching for a beer to pour over his head and extinguish the flames. Bonner spent a few days in critical condition at a hospital. It’s unclear how much he bet and if anyone paid up.
A more recent incident includes a former Texas man who moved to Georgia for a Senate run and spent nearly three minutes talking about the movie “Fright Night” during a campaign speech.
“Did you know that a werewolf can kill a vampire?” Hershel Walker asked his audience. “I never knew that so I don’t want to be a vampire anymore, I want to be a werewolf.”
Well, I guess we can add that to the list of other careers Walker has had, like FBI agent and law enforcement officer.