In the annals of really dumb things to do while committing a crime, this is one of the best.
Cops in Poulsbo, Wash., say a 22-year-old man led them on a high-speed chase after holding up a gas station — and then went back to the same gas station to ask for directions.
The unnamed Vancouver, Wash., resident walked into a Chevron (search) station early Christmas morning brandishing a knife, reports the Kitsap Sun.
After cleaning out the till, the robber and a passenger took off in a red Honda, and cops from four towns and sheriff's deputies gave chase.
The caravan zoomed at speeds up to 100 mph through the winding roads of western Puget Sound, where twists and turns can leave even locals disoriented.
After a while, the fugitives managed to lose their pursuers in the darkness, but they had no idea where they were.
So the stickup man pulled into a Chevron station to ask for the way to Seattle, unaware that it was the very same establishment he'd just robbed.
Whether the undoubtedly startled attendants gave him the right directions — they'd involve either a ferry ride or a 50-mile detour through Tacoma (search) — the Kitsap Sun doesn't say.
In any case, the cops caught up to the Honda soon afterward.
The gas-station robber admitted the deed, police said, and also confessed to breaking into a local Blockbuster Video store.
— Thanks to Out There reader Kent J.
It's a Good Thing Nobody Said 'They Killed Us'
To a 4-year-old, it must have made perfect sense.
Some neighborhood kids spent New Year's Day playing street hockey in Elora, Ontario, reports the London (Ontario) Free Press.
Nothing unusual there, especially when the NHL lockout (search) has Canadians starved for something to do.
But when one of the players complained to a 4-year-old spectator that his team had been "robbed" of a goal, the thoughtful tyke took it literally.
He marched right back home and promptly called 911.
"Some of the kids said to him, 'Call the cops, someone stole a goal there,'" explained Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Rektor. "So he went in and called the cops."
When the dispatcher asked for details, the boy hung up. A call back and a conversation with the boy's mother quickly resolved the matter.
"He wasn't trying to be malicious," laughed Rektor. "It was just the innocence of it that was funny."
Found: One Kangaroo, Slightly Disoriented
DODGEVILLE, Wis. (AP) — A kangaroo that went on a walkabout in frigid Wisconsin was captured Wednesday. But where the marsupial came from remained a mystery.
Sheriff's deputies cornered the 150-pound kangaroo in a barn after receiving calls for days from shocked residents who had seen it.
Officials from Henry Vilas Zoo (search) in Madison, about 45 miles away, planned to pick it up and take care of it.
Zoo director Jim Hubing said the kangaroo would not have survived long in the Wisconsin winter. Temperatures in the animal's native Australia generally do not drop below the 30s.
"The people that reported it were quite apprehensive to report it because they didn't want to be made a fool of," Sheriff Steve Michek said Tuesday.
He said the animal might have escaped as someone was bringing it through the county.
— Thanks to Out There readers Kris P., Peter L. and Harley W.
Consideration Always Comes First
LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) Firefighters usually GO to fires. But in this case, the fire came to them.
It happened Wednesday in Leominster. Darren Brosseau had just loaded up his garbage truck with old furniture and other items and was on his way to the dump when he noticed flames coming from the back of the truck.
Brosseau made a snap decision to drive to the nearby Central Fire Station. He stopped right in front of one of the bays, but startled firefighters told him to pull up so they could get one of their engines out.
Brosseau dumped the burning trash into the street and the firefighters quickly doused the flames.
The truck driver later told a Telegram and Gazette reporter that he was trying to "make it easy" for the firefighters.
At the neighboring police station, officers pointed out that bank robbers never seem to make things as convenient for them.
Woman Tries to Speed Up Inheritance
BATH, N.Y. (AP) — A woman who spiked her elderly neighbor's pastry with over-the-counter medication will spend up to nine years in prison.
Jennifer Clark, 26, was sentenced Monday to between 2 and 6 years in state prison for serving her 82-year-old neighbor a store-bought apple strudel cake (search) laced with a nighttime pain reliever.
She also was sentenced to a consecutive term of 1-3 years on an unrelated burglary charge.
Prosecutors said Clark spiked the pastry in September after learning the man was going to include her in his will. The man, who is described as frail, noticed the pills in the strudel before consuming a significant amount.
Clark was originally charged with attempted first-degree assault, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. But under a deal with prosecutors, she pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless endangerment.
Woman Tries to Force Boss's Sick Day
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Miami woman was found guilty Wednesday of poisoning her boss by putting rat poison into his soda can.
Femesha Foster, 37, was caught on a hidden camera dropping the toxic mix into Mark Caruso's drink in 2000. The pair were co-workers at a Wal-Mart (search) store in Pembroke Pines.
She said was only trying to force Caruso to go home sick because she had recently discovered that he knew she had written checks from his account.
Caruso was taken to an emergency room, where he was treated and released.
Foster's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 20. She faces up to 30 years in prison on the jury conviction.
In May, a state appeals court overturned Foster's previous conviction because she was charged with "attempted poisoning," which was not a specific crime under Florida law.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
Got a good "Out There" story in your hometown? We'd like to know about it. Send an e-mail, with a Web link (we need to authenticate these things), to outthere@foxnews.com.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox