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Published January 13, 2015
Sanjaya Malakar's goofy grin might have something to do with his family's secret stash.
Two years ago, the "American Idol" contestant's mom, Jillian Blith, sister Shyamali and stepdad, Charles Quist, were busted by police in Washington State on marijuana charges, TMZ.com reports.
Sis Shyamali Malakar, 17, was pinched on possession charges when cops found her at the family home on Feb. 24, 2005, with a bag of weed. In the garage, they found 310 marijuana plants, according to police reports.
Shyamali led police to a nearby marijuana growing facility where they found Blith and Quist along with other pot plants.
Blith pleaded guilty to one count of felonious manufacture of a controlled substance and spent 30 days in jail, TMZ.com reported. No word on the sentences for Malakar and Quist.
The news is enough to have the Web site dubbing the "American Idol" contestant's family operation "Ganja-ya!"
One Heck of a Wild Sheep Case
Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles, News Australia reports.
Flocks of sheep were marketed as fashionable accessories — available at $1,300 each — by a company called Poodles as Pets. A real poodle retails for twice that much in Japan.
The scam was uncovered when Japanese film star Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.
She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.
Hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.
One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.
Police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam.
It's So Much Sexier in the Slammer
BALTIMORE (AP) — A woman pleaded guilty to using a false ID badge to enter a corrections facility while posing as an attorney so she could have sex with an inmate, state prosecutors said.
Tiffany Weaver, 29, entered the plea Wednesday. She was charged with identity theft and use of false government identification after entering the Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Center in November to meet with inmate Jason Moody. Moody is serving a 30-year sentence for manslaughter.
Weaver arrived at the center with a Maryland State Bar Association Security Identification Pass with a photo and a business card with attorney Amanda Sprehn's name.
She asked for admittance to meet with Moody and showed the fraudulent badge. Corrections officials responsible for monitoring inmate meetings with attorneys witnessed the two having sex once they were alone. The corrections officers ended the meeting.
The real Amanda Sprehn, an Annapolis attorney, told The Baltimore Examiner she was on leave when her firm received a letter banning her from the jail.
"I was out on maternity leave," she said. "They informed me they received a letter saying I had been caught having sex with an inmate — which was a real laugh."
Weaver's sentencing is scheduled for June 7.
Not So Happy About This McDonald's Meal
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A grandmother was alarmed to find a condom in a happy meal gift pack bought for her 7-year-old granddaughter at a McDonald's restaurant in New Zealand, local media reported Thursday.
The condom was discovered Tuesday night in a bag that came with Maia Whitaker's meal, which her grandparents bought at a McDonald's outlet in the city of Wellington.
Grandpa Rowan Hutch told The Dominion Post newspaper it was lucky his wife was first to look inside the small sports bag that came with the meal.
She was aghast when she found the green condom and its packet inside the bag, he said.
"I was pretty horrified really. The fact my granddaughter was going to look in the bag and find this thing. It would be difficult to explain, she's only seven," said Hutch.
The outlet quickly swapped the happy meal for a hamburger and pencil case. McDonald's is investigating the find.
Spokeswoman Joanna Redfern-Hardisty said because of its popularity, the previous happy meal gift had sold out at the outlet and prepackaged sports bags were substituted as children's gifts.
One was left unsealed for display purposes and "somehow" had ended up with the customer, she said, without explaining why the condom was present.
Alabaman Should've Had a V-8
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — There's no use crying over spilled milk, but spilled soda has been a nightmare for one man.
Eric Burns Overstreet was put in jail in September after entering the Mystik Stop & Shop, paying for a fountain drink and spilling three cups of it onto the floor.
The first time he spilled the soda, Overstreet went to fetch a mop and began cleaning up the mess. In the process, he spilled a second and a third soft drink.
"He clearly appeared to be under the influence of something other than good sense," Chief Assistant District Attorney Nicki Patterson said.
Overstreet, who at one point put a yellow "Wet Floor" warning sign out as he mopped, was chased down by a clerk when he grabbed another soft drink and left without paying for it.
Overstreet pleading guilty last week to a reduced charge of third-degree theft. He was given a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to stay out of the Mystik Stop & Shop.
Circuit Judge Rick Stout, noting that Overstreet had spent many months in jail over a carbonated beverage, said he hoped the soda was good.
Overstreet responded: "I should've had a V-8."
Madam, Your Chariot ... er ... John Deere Awaits
NEW ROCKFORD, N.D. (AP) — Levi Rue showed up to collect his prom date, Alissa Bachmeier, in a 1992 green John Deere 8760 tractor.
"A few people made bets with me that I wouldn't do it," said Rue, a senior at New Rockford-Sheyenne High School. "I guess I won them."
He suggested the idea to his date last Thursday, two days before the prom.
"At first she wasn't sure she wanted to," said Rue. "She was worried about her dress getting dirty."
But after Rue showed her pictures of the tractor and promised to make sure it was immaculate, Bachmeier agreed.
"I cleaned it up pretty good," he said.
Bachmeier wore a lime green prom dress that nearly matched the tractor. Rue said they drove around town and to his grandmother's house to show her the unusual chariot.
"We got quite a few people who stopped and looked and stared and waved," he said.
He's Been Known to Tap a Till or Two
OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — A serial "till tapper" is on the loose, Opelika police said. Till tapping is the term used to describe someone who snatches money from a cash register.
At least five businesses have been hit, including two on Tuesday, when the bandit stole money from a Dollar General and a Winn-Dixie, Opelika Police Captain Allan Elkins said.
The crime spree started April 19, Elkins said. Officers have the suspect's description because he was captured on surveillance video.
The Lee County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward in the case.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Sara Bonisteel.
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