Projo Offbeat Blog

We have news this week of two men who probably won't make it into the Criminal Masterminds Hall of Fame.

First, there's Charles Chambers, 36, who was arrested in Anderson County, S.C., after, the police say, he drove a stolen car to the sheriff's office to demand the return of nearly $2,000 officers seized from him during a drug arrest last June.

According to a story by the Associated Press, deputies said after they told Chambers to leave Tuesday afternoon, an officer noticed he got into a car that matched the description of a vehicle stolen about three hours earlier.

When an officer pulled him over, Chambers had to stick a screwdriver in the car's ignition to shut it off because the vehicle's key switch had been removed, the story reports.

Closer to home, we have Benjamin Benigno, a 28-year-old Newport man whose alleged home-based business got him in trouble last weekend.

After getting information that marijuana was being dealt from Benigno's home at 120 Carroll Ave., the police went there Sunday to check on Benigno's children, ages 3 and 9 months, according to a story in The Journal and on projo.com.

When Benigno let them in, the police say they smelled marijuana and saw a glass pipe packed with marijuana. Then, they say, they noticed 162 marijuana plants growing under flourescent lights.

Note to Benigno: When the police ask to come in, say "no."

Tell them the house is a mess, and you need to clean up. Tell them you're busy preparing for the Rhode Island Spring Flower and Garden Show. Tell them anything.

I know it's bad to look like you've got something to hide when the police start asking you questions. But if you've got 162 marijuana plants in your home, you do have something to hide.

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