Friday the 13th Bad Luck

Friday the 13th... Jason's Day

When I was growing up, a teenager in the '80s, the slasher movies were popular.  No series was bigger than the Friday the 13th series featuring a hockey-mask-wearing murderer named Jason.  Every time a new movie in the series arrived in theaters, the next day in school I'd hear "here comes Jason" or whispers of "kill kill kill".

I wasn't really into slasher movies.  I saw one of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, and I only saw the original Halloween movie about two years ago when I was on a Jaime Lee Curtis kick.

Anyhow, it's Friday the 13th again, and I figured I'd post a few bad luck stories, none of which happened on Friday the 13th, just to make you feel better.

First, read the Friday the 13th Bad Luck page, then go to Amazon and buy a bunch of slasher movies to support SunFyre!

Happy happy day,

Jason... um... I mean SunFyre.

Carjacker Caught by Judo Team

Los Angeles -- A man who was pummeled by a college judo team from Florida when they caught him trying to steal their van was sentenced to 11 years in prison for kidnapping, robbery and carjacking.

Tyrone Jermain Hogan, 20, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Thursday.

Deputy District Attorney Paul Kim said Hogan had just robbed a man of his shoes and carjacked a woman when he encountered the Florida International University judo club at a Hollywood gas station.

Kim said Hogan's carjacking victim had escaped, and he was trying to ditch her car at the gas station when he saw the judo team's van.

Team members said Hogan asked one of them for money before reaching into the van to take the keys.

The club's instructor, Nestor Bustillo, said the students punched Hogan, then held him "like a pretzel on the ground" until police arrived.

The judo club's members were in Los Angeles to teach a self-defense class.

Guns For Hire

Arizona -- A company called "Guns For Hire" stages gunfights for Western movies and other events. One day, a middle-aged woman called to inquire if they could kill her husband. She was sentenced to four and a half years.

K-9 Unit

Hopedale, Massachusetts -- An inebriated man stood naked in his front yard one night and began shooting at cars that passed by. Finally someone called the police. When the officer passed by, the drunk shot at his car also. The police officer got out of the car and in an attempt to escape, the man jumped on the back of the officer's partner, a German Shepherd police dog. The dog became angry and viscously attacked the nude man while the officer handcuffed him.

Holding Tank

Urban Legend?? -- A couple was out camping in their motor home. They came back after a walk and things didn't look quite right around their motor home. So they took a look around. They found a man in the bushes vomiting everywhere. The guy would-be thief had tried to siphon gas from the motor home, but instead got the holding tank.

Smash and Grab

Arkansas -- Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. Seems the liquor store window was made of Plexi-Glass. The whole event was caught on videotape.

Real Criminals, Fake Cops

Baltimore -- During the filming of the weekly TV series "Homicide", production was interrupted when two criminals, fleeing the scene of their crime surrendered to a bunch of actors dressed up like police. The bad guys thought that they had been "headed off" by the real cops.

It's a Jungle Out There

Costa Rica / Panama -- A 28-year-old Panamanian accused of killing a judge was eaten by a crocodile as he swam across a river after escaping from prison, police said on Thursday.

Oswaldo Martinez, accused of murdering judge Harmodio Mariscal on June 5 during a failed robbery in Panama City, was captured last week by police after fleeing to neighboring Costa Rica.

After being held in custody in Costa Rica, Martinez broke out of jail at the weekend and was aiming to reenter Panama through the dense jungle that divides the two Central American countries.

Martinez was eaten alive by the crocodile on Monday as he tried to swim across the River Terraba in southern Costa Rica, according to eyewitness reports confirmed by police on Thursday.