Exclusive: Teacher Stephanie Ragusa Arrested Fourth Time for Sex With Underage Boys, Holds Up Four Fingers in Mug Shot

We're not sure what the record is for female teachers being arrested for having sex with underage boys is, but according to investigators Stephanie Ragusa, 29, has now been charged for the fourth time for having an inappropriate relationship with an underage high school boy. And in all of her mug shots, she seems less than concerned about the mounting charges against her. In fact, The Dumbass Daily has obtained this exclusive mug shot (taken, apparently, after her latest arrest) from a source at the police department, showing what the image looked like before it was edited. Experts tell us they believe the hand gesture could be some sort of gang sign, but we think it could also stand for her fourth arrest for the same crime . . . and yet, she keeps on smiling, doesn't she?
There was also a report in the news that not only had Ragusa lied on her resume when she applied for her job at Davidsen Middle School, claiming she had graduated "suma cum laude" from University of South Florida, and in the process misspelling the common term for obtaining a high GPA. That's some fine fact-checking there, Lou.
Here's more on Ragusa's fourth arrest in the past two months from Tampa Bays 10:

Although Stephanie Ragusa smiled each time she was led of out jail, the 28-year-old teacher was worried about getting caught having sex with her student.

She was hesitant to talk about it when the victim called her. At the time, investigators were with the alleged victim, and taping the conversation. "I get paranoid about it," Ragusa told the teen "People like to take you down. People like drama."

According to the police report, when Ragusa first hooked up with her alleged victim, she was in a wheel chair and he was her escort. The report says he pushed the wheel chair into an elevator at Davidsen Middle School. That's where Ragusa told the teenager, "I can see you're shy, and I can fix it." Police say later that day she took him to her apartment after school, where she performed oral sex and they had intercourse.

During the phone conversation, Ragusa admitted she knew what she had done was wrong.

On the phone Ragusa tells the teen it's illegal. When the alleged victim asks why, Ragusa says, "You're under 18 and I'm over 18, and I don't know, whatever."

In the taped conversations she says "it would be all over the news and everything." When the teenager asks if she means it would be like what happened to Debra Lafave, another teacher who had sex with a student, Ragusa replies, "Yeah." When the teen asks Ragusa what she remembers about it, she says "it was fun."

And it was "fun" that could and wipe the smile off Ragusa's face and put her in prison for years.

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Texas Man Arrested for Trying to Cash Check for $360 Billion - Charles Ray Fuller

Most big city banks see customers come in with large checks all the time. A million dollars? No big deal, right? But when a scruffy looking young man shows up at your window with a check for $360 BILLION dollars (yes, with a B) that's likely to raise a few eyebrows, even in Texas. Here's more from the Star-Telegram:

An aspiring record label owner is singing the blues after he was arrested last week for allegedly trying to pass a $360 billion check at a Fort Worth bank.
Employees at the Chase Bank at 8601 S. Hulen St. grew suspicious after seeing all those zeroes (10 to be exact) and called the check's owner. The woman said the suspect, Charles Ray Fuller, 21, of Crowley, is her daughter’s boyfriend and that he did not have permission to take the check or cash it.
Fuller was arrested on suspicion of fraud, along with unlawfully carrying a weapon and possession of marijuana after officers found less than 2 ounces of the drug and a .25-caliber handgun and magazine in his pockets.
While inside a patrol car, police say Fuller blurted out that he is starting his own record label and had been given the money by his girlfriend’s mother to help him start it.

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Shock Video: Teen Hit With Folding Chair in Cafeteria - Achieve Academy, Prescott Valley AZ

Well, it didn't take long for some other stupid high school girl to top the Mulberry Eight cheerleader beating video! Less than a week after that horror, Arizona cops have arrested one 14-year-old girl for hitting another 14-year-old girl, Taylor Hedlund in the head with a folding chair, just like in professional wrestling! And it was all caught on a cell phone camera in the cafeteria at Achieve Academy in little Prescott Valley, Arizona. What would cause such an angry outburst? Cops say the two had some kind of verbal exchange (another report said they were throwing sunflower seeds at each other) but either way, it doesn't seem to warrant a metal chair to head from behind, does it?
This all took place last Thursday, and like other recent teen shock videos, this one also ended up on the Internet where cops downloaded it as evidence in the case. The as-yet-unnamed attacker has been charged with aggravated assault, and faces several other charges n the juvenile court system, including disorderly conduct and . . . interfering with an educational institution?
At right, a still frame from the video.
We're still looking for a clip to post here, but in the mean time you can check it out at AZFamily.com.

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Mom Takes Infant Along With Her to Rob Candy Store - Christine Ruther

Now here's one mug shot you're not likely to forget anytime soon! That's Christine Ruther, 19, of Green Township (we're assuming Ohio because the story is from the Cincinnati Enquirer) who was arrested along with three other people for the robbery of a local candy store. But that's not her only crime: apparently Ms. Ruther took her 7-wee-old daughter with her on the crime spree and, according to cops, used the baby's stroller to haul away some of her loot. And when we say loot in this case we are actually referring to stolen candy, not cash. The thieves were ultimately caught when--I'm not making this up!--cops followed a trail of candy and empty wrappers. Are we really that far from the movie "Idiocracy" coming true? At right, Christine Ruther's mug shot picture. Here's more from the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Police said Ruther had her 7-week-old daughter with her. Ruther told police she and her baby accompanied three people to the break-in and watched. She also told officers they used the baby stroller to transport the candy.

Ruther was charged with child endangering and breaking and entering. Also charged with breaking and entering were Terrance Ware, 18, of Northside; Rebecca Gamble, 18, of Blue Ash; and Dwight Reed, 22, of Walnut Hills.

Leslie Betts, manager of the 103-year-old family candy distributing business, said the quartet stole every kind of candy imaginable: “Reece cups, Skittles, Twizzlers, you name it.”

She said she learned of the break-in when Cincinnati police called her at home about 1:30 a.m.

“You’ve been broken into,” she said they told her. “We’re guarding the Swedish fish. Hurry. Come down. We can’t leave the store. It’s wide open.”

Cincinnati police also called Ruther’s mother, Amy Ruther, and asked her to come pick up the baby at District 1 police headquarters in the West End, Amy Ruther said in a phone interview.

She said she was shocked and upset over her daughter’s arrest – and that she would have the baby, Madison, with her.

“She has some problems and we have been trying to help her for a long time through doctors,” Amy Ruther said of her daughter. “When someone is that age you can’t force them to do anything. People shouldn’t make fun of the situation when they don’t know the facts. She is a good person.”

She said Christine and the baby live with her and her husband but they haven’t been able to reach Christine this week.

Amy Ruther said she doesn’t think the break-in was planned because the baby was with her daughter.

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Heather Ayers, Flees Scene of Drunk Driving Accident, Leaves Daughter, 6, Behind Because "That’s What They Do on COPs."

Another "Mother of the Year" Finalist and this one is no April Fools joke. Heather Ayers, 29, was reportedly involved in a drunk driving incident in Brevard County, Florida Tuesday night and allegedly fled the scene. That's not so unusual, but the fact that she left her 6-year-old daughter--and four other injured people--at the scene where the car had flipped over several times, raised a few eyebrows in court. But even the judge was a bit put off when he found out her reasoning for running: according to the state trooper's notes, Ayers reportedly told him that ". . . she'd been driving around drinking since 5 p.m. with her daughter and ran from the scene because that’s what they do on COPs." COPs, of course, is the long running reality TV show on FOX that shows real police officers doing their jobs, sometimes arresting stupid criminals. Enough said. At right, Heather Ayers mug shot from WFTV.
Here's more on the story from My Fox Orlando:

The Florida Highway Patrol said Heather Ayers, 29 ,was driving North on I-95 just past Wickham Road in Brevard County when she rear-ended the car in front of her. That car flipped several times in the median.

Troopers say three of the four passengers in the first car were ejected. Ayers wound up crossing southbound 95 and slammed into some bushes. Troopers said that's when Ayers jumped and ran leaving the scene and her six year old daughter in the back seat of her car.

She was arrested and made her first court appearance Wednesday. The judge could not believe what was written in the troopers report.

"He smelled a strong odor of alcohol on her breath. She was yelling F-you. get me off this bus.," The judge read aloud from the troopers paper work.

"I was worried about my daughter,” Ayers replied. “She's six”

The judge continued to read more of the trooper’s notes aloud.

"She was drinking at home and had 2 beers because of an argument with her step father. She stated she'd been driving around drinking since 5 p.m. with her daughter and ran from the scene because that’s what they do on Cops."

The arrest makes DUI number two for Ayers. She was convicted on DUI charges in Tennessee three years ago. Between the first and the second DUI offense and the nature of the injuries troopers say she caused Tuesday, the Judge set Ayers bond at $190,000.

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UK Kid's Show Host Strips - Toonattik, Jamie Rickers

Is it possible to retell the classic tale of "The Emporer's New Clothes" to an audience of children without actually BEING naked? Apparently not for Toonattik host Jamie Rickers failed to wear some kind of skin-colored body suit during the broadcast the other day, and ONLY had a piece of cardboard to cover his private parts. Keep in mind too, that there is also a live audience of little ones there as well, who probably got more than they hoped to see. At right, a still photo from the broadcast.
Here's more (or less, as the case may be) from The Sun:

Toonattik host Jamie Rickers stripped off to re-enact a scene from the story The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Jamie covered his modesty with a bit of cardboard, but kids in the studio pointed as they got an eyeful of his rear.
Normally on children’s TV, presenters wear “skin suits” for any capers requiring them to appear undressed. Jamie had slipped into skin-coloured pants.
Embarrassed co-host Anna Williamson covered her face during Sunday’s breakfast-time broadcast on GMTV.
Shocked part-time schoolteacher Maddy Klein, 35, from Southend, Essex, whose children are two and five, was among parents upset by Jamie’s antics.
Maddy, who has complained to regulator Ofcom, fumed: “It was inappropriate on a young kids’ show.
“He showed off most of his body including a hairy chest. TV presenters should keep their clothes on.”

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Sex Offender Tries to Take Girl, 14, to Middle School Dance - Gregory Ray Brooks

It's only February and we may already have one of the finalists for "Dumbass of the Year." How could that be? Try this one: a faculty chaperone at a dance for students at Athens Middle School (Alabama) noticed that the date of one 14-year-old girl looked just a little older than the 17 years he claimed. So they stopped Gregory Ray Brooks at the door and started asking some questions. Brooks took off running to a nearby laundrymat and was later picked up by the local cops who found out that not only was he not 17 (Brooks is actually 25) he also is a REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER having been convicted in May 2004 of first-degree sodomy on an 8-year-old victim.
Apparently he met the 14-year-old through some friends recently and she did not know he was that old or had that conviction in his background.
Mr. Brooks was charged with public intoxication and failure to comply with the community notification act by loitering on school property. At right is his mug shot picture. (Fox News)

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Woman on $2500 a Month Disability Somehow Leases $100,000 BMW - Vivian Snyder

Think it's just homes that people spent too much money for during the recent housing boom? Think again! Now comes the story of Vivian Snyder, of Freemont California, who apparently fell in love with a brand new convertible BMW with a MSRP listed at approximately $100,000. The monthly lease payment was "only" $1300 a month. Not bad . . . unless your total income each month is more than a disability check for only $2500. How did Snyder think she could afford such a car and why in the world would BMW of Fremont and BMW Financial Services approve her application? Sounds like everyone got a little excited about closing the deal and may have lied--just a little--on her loan application . . . like stating that she actually made $8600 a month, without any kind of verification. In one of the versions of this story we read, Snyder also stated that she put her entire life savings of $30,000 down on the lease, on a car she can't afford and will lose. Here's more from CBS 5:

Most consumers can't afford it, and neither could Snyder. That's because the monthly lease payment was $1,300. It ate up half her income which was a $2,500 disability check. "I made a mistake by driving off with the car. I thought my situation would change. I thought I'd be able to go back to work soon and make my usual salary. You always hope things will get better. I didn't realize I was getting such a bad deal. They added all these extras knowing it would be difficult for me to make the payments already. I'm greatly embarrassed, I should have looked over the lease better."
Snyder made three unsuccessful attempts to return the car, but the dealership told CBS5 it had no authority to take it back. The lease was already in the hands of the lender BMW Financial. How did the deal even happen? Apparently, her income was inflated by nearly 150%.
According to consumer advocate Rosemary Shahan with Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety the practice is common. "This is an epidemic of loan applications being falsified," said Shahan. "In fact, the model for the meltdown we're seeing in real estate and home mortgage lending was auto lending."
Snyder's story started like so many others. She went to the dealership which is owned by Autonation, the largest automobile retailer in the country just to look.
She was caught up in the excitement and said she told the salesperson about her $2,500-a month income. But, what ended up on the credit application was the amount she could be making if she was not on disability.
"He (the salesperson) put what he thought I needed to get qualified for the car," according to Vivian. She admitted she signed the lease with an inflated income at $6000 a month.
But CBS5 reviewed the lease application handed to Vivian as she left and compared it to a page from the same multi-layer document she retrieved days later.
Snyder's income had been changed once again - from $6,000 to $8,600, this time without her knowing. An "8" had been placed before the "6" and "0"s tacked at the end. General Manager Larry Long said a salesperson insists he changed the figure while Vivian was present.
"I witnessed that sale. I saw her and congratulated her. She was so thankful. She was so passionate about wanting that car and would have done anything to get that car," Long said. Long directed the blame on the finance company - BMW Financial Services. "It's up to them to look at the credit application and they will see it at face value what the customer puts on paper as to be the truth," Long said.
CBS5 learned BMW Financial Services approved Snyder's lease based on her income stated as $8600. The approval occurred within a two-hour window and proof of income was not necessary.
Martha McKinley, a spokesperson with BMW Financial Services, said, "We have investigated this matter internally, and we are satisfied that BMW Financial Services acted appropriately at all times during the application and credit review process."

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Man Trolls Court Website, Posts Bond for Attractive Women, Demands Sex in Return - Jason Lee

Is that so wrong? You're not supposed to troll court websites looking at the mug shots of young women who've been arrested, then offer to post their bail (sometimes as little as $100) in exchange for sex with your and/or your friends? Sounds like a win/win situation . . . or at least it must have for Jason Lee, 28 (not THAT Jason Lee), of Cincinnati, Ohio. And the female judge who found out about his little operation is not to happy about it either. Here's more from WLWT - link includes video clip:

Judge Nadine Allen had Lee taken into custody after a domestic violence suspect told her in court that Lee, sitting in the back of the courtroom, had been having sex with her in exchange for her release on bond. Allen said Lee told her that he was there to collect money owed to him.
“When we think about sex slave rings, we think about Darfur, Sudan, Africa, even Russian situations we've heard about, but this is happening in Hamilton County,” Allen said. The judge said Lee trolled the Hamilton County jail Web site, looking for women. When he found one he wanted, Allen said, Lee would post her bond in exchange for sex. “So here's a guy cruising the Internet to post bond for a stranger, gets her out and she said, the defendant, says he forced her to have sex with his friends,” Allen said.

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Mom Arrested for DUI: Had Case of Beer Buckled, But Not Baby - Tina Williams

Ah, only February and the Mother of the Year competition is already heating up! This time, it's a woman stopped for erratic driving in St. Augustine, Florida on Super Bowl Sunday. When cops stopped her, the woman--who identified herself as Tina Williamns--told officers she didn't have a license and she was low on gas. At that point the observant cop noticed that not only did Ms. Williams' breath smell like alchohol, but that she had a case of beer neatly buckled in the passenger seat and her 1-year-old in back seat unrestrained. Yeah, even that will get a cop's attention. Oh, and she also had two silver metal pipes in her purse.
Williams will now face charges of driving under the influence, child endangerment, driving without a valid license, running a red light and not having a seatbelt or child restraint. (First Coast News)

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Former Teacher Shows Up at Woman's Home to Have Sex With Her AND Her Daughters - Lowell Hanna

Once again, an adult male (who should know better) thinks he's communicating with someone online who wants to have sex with him, and it turns out to be a cop working a sting operation. This time, retired school teacher Lowell Hanna, 66, really got himself into it: according to cops, he went to a home he thought belonged to a woman and her young daughters, aged 7 and 9. When police arrested him at the door on charges including criminal solicitation to rape, Hanna had with him gifts including video games, a Christmas card, about a dozen bottles of wine, Viagra and condoms. (WHP-TV)

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Booze Thief Found Passed Out in Alley Behind Liquor Store He Robbed of Alcohol

You know how police say in a lot of situations "alcohol may have been involved" to explain some dumbasses actions?
In this case, it is literally true. Police in Virginia Beach received a call from the owner of Moe’s Southwestern Grill claiming that someone had tried to break into his restaurant but instead left a trail of blood . . . that lead right to the nearby ABC liquor store. There, the allegedly burglar, Eric Dewandel, broke out the front window and tracked blood throughout the store while grabbing hundreds of dollars worth of alcohol and drinking some of his haul along the way. Cops followed the trail of blood to just behind the liquor store to find Dewandel crouching over his recent haul. Yeah, he was arrested. (WVEC)

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Jessica Sierra Sex Tape Shocker: Arrested American Idol Star's Naked Home Video to be Released

Things just go from bad to worse for former American Idol finalist Jessica Seirra. According to the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com, an unnamed Internet porn company has attained the rights to a sex video and will distribute it. As you likely recall, Sierra currently faces eleven years in prison for disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence which violated her probation only DAYS after she got a slap on the wrist. And it sounds like there's more than wrist-slapping going on in the sex tape. TMZ has a naked still from the video (which looks like it was shot in a motel room) showing Sierra in a bathtub . . . smoking cigarette. Likely we will be hearing more about it in the days to come.

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Woman Files False Rape Report Because of "Marital Problems" - Adriana Velasquez

We have to admit, it was the mug shot that got us on this one. She just has that, "I can't believe I got caught, what am I going to do now?" look, doesn't she?
According to police, Adriana Velasquez, 28, claimed she was attacked by two men when she opened up the family business in Little Havana, in Miami. One of them cut off her clothes and then attempted to sexually assault her, but whas stopped when she somehow managed to press an alarm. Velasquez was even able to give police a detailed description of one of the attackers, but when no tips on the robbery/assault came in after major press coverage, they went back to Velasquez who admitted she made up the whole thing because she was having "marital problems". Nice police work there, Lou. (Miami Herald)

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Chemistry Teacher Arrested for Making Meth in School - Jeff Scheidemantel, Shafter High School

Crystal meth or methamphetamine is a nasty drug that's actually manufactured by those who sell it . . . and the process is anything but pleasant. As we understand it, the fumes released during the process are dangerous to inhale, permanently damage the materials in the room, and on occassion, it can also cause explosions. So, what better place to set up a meth lab than in a high school! Here's more from Bakersfield.com and there's a video news story at the end.

Jeff Scheidemantel of Bakersfield was arrested on suspicion of possession of precursor chemicals necessary for the production of methamphetamine, manufacturing methamphetamine and manufacturing methamphetamine endangering children, according to a news release by the Bakersfield Police Department.
Students are not suspected to have been involved in the alleged drug operation, according to police and the Kern High School District.
"We don't have any indications that students were in danger," said John Teves, spokesman for the school district.
In November, local and federal agents were alerted that Scheidemantel went online to buy red phosphorus and was trying to import the product from outside the country, said Sgt. Greg Terry with BPD. Red phosphorus is an important ingredient for making methamphetamine, Terry said.
On Saturday, officers executed search warrants at Scheidemantel's home and his school chemistry lab.
Investigators found recipes of different ways to make methamphetamine in the raids and seized several weapons from Scheidemantel's home.
A county methamphetamine laboratory response team went to the high school and found precursor chemicals necessary for making the drug, according to the news release. The man is believed to have started the manufacturing process, but there was no evidence of the drug at the school, Terry said.

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Former American Idol Finalist, Jessica Sierra, Arrested for Probation Violation/Bar Disturbance

UPDATE: Details on the Charges Against Former American Idol Finalist Jessica Sierra
Here's more from Tampa Bays 10:

According to police, Sierra was arrested after causing a disturbance in front of Ybor City's Full Moon Saloon around 2:10 a.m. Saturday. Police say the club bouncers called over two off-duty officers when Sierra refused to leave the bar and started yelling at them.
The officers stepped in and told Sierra again to leave. According to police, once she was outside the bar, she started yelling at other bar patrons. The officers say they gave Sierra several warnings to leave, or she would be placed under arrest.
That's when police say she began physically fighting on the ground with a friend who was trying to calm her down. Officers say she then started walking away from in front of the bar and doubled back, violently shoving numerous patrons on the sidewalk while yelling profanities.
Officers on the scene say while they were taking her into custody, she attempted to push away and run off.
She also allegedly struck one of the arresting officers in the face. Once she was in custody and on her way to booking, police say Sierra went back and forth from being combative to apologetic.
Also according to police, she initiated racial slurs toward the officer, then allegedly offered sexual favors for her release. Witnesses say Sierra got sick once she was in the patrol car.

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Man Tries to Move House Himself, Leaves It at Side of the Road

Need a free house? There's one sitting next to the 101 Freeway in California after Patrick Richardson tried to save a little money and move it himself. Here's more from the LA Daily News:

For five days, Patrick Richardson's home has sat on the 101 Freeway, causing thousands of motorists to rubberneck at the sight of the abandoned, green ranch-style house on the shoulder.
And as each day goes by, its splintered roof sags a little more. And elated taggers apply fresh coats of black graffiti to the new northbound-freeway fixture near the Universal Studio exit.
But there's no sign of Richardson, who decided to move his house on his own from Santa Monica to Santa Clarita with a truck and trailer that broke down over and over along the way in an extreme moving nightmare Saturday that tied up traffic for eight hours.
Patrick, please pick up your house.

Thanks to David for the link!

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Drunken Man Puts Rattlesnake Down Throat to Impress Friends, Nearly Dies - Matt Wilkinson, Oregon

Dumbass of the Year finalist? You bet!

Apparently, Matt Wilkinson thought it would be funny to put his pet eastern diamondback rattlesnake down his throat while drinking with some buddies, that is, until he noticed a shot-like sensation. We'll let Local 6 give you the gory details:

"Me, being me, I put his head in my mouth," Wilkinson said. "At first, it felt like someone had given me a shot in the mouth."
Wilkinson's throat began to swell and close as poison rushed through his body.
Doctors stuck a breathing tube down his throat, injected several rounds of anti-venin and then put him in a medical coma for three days.
Wilkinson, who nearly died from the incident, is still recovering from the bite.
"They said I had enough venom in me to kill between 12 and 15 people," Wilkinson said. "I still love snakes but I will take a little more care in handling them," Wilkinson said. "It is kind of my own stupid fault."

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Guys "Moon" From Boat, Fall Overboard, Get Run Over by Propeller

Wow, talk about not seeing that one coming. Ever mooned someone and thought, "What's the worst that can happen?" How about having the propeller blade of a boat slash you in the face? How about them apples? Here's more from The Age in Australia:

A failed practical joke in which three men in a dinghy "bared their buttocks" at a group of people has been blamed for a boating accident on the Gold Coast that left a teenager with serious facial injuries.

A man was also issued with a Notice to Appear for drink driving of a vessel following the incident.

Police believe the dinghy became unstable after the three occupants stood up in the vessel.

The trio lost their balance and fell into the waterway — a canal at Broadbeach Waters — around 4pm yesterday.

A police spokesperson said the boat engine continued to run in gear, leaving the vessel circling unoccupied in the waterway.

It looped around the group, and the rotating propeller stuck a 17-year-old Kanimbla boy in the face.

He was rushed to the Gold Coast Hospital, suffering serious facial injuries. The injury required surgery, and the youth remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Police issued a 20-year-old Rochedale South man with a Notice to Appear for drink driving of a vessel. He will appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on October 1.

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