When you think about the stupid things you can do with your life, robbing people is right up there. Breaking the law is bad enough, however it can end up with someone possibly losing their life as well. Plenty of robberies have gone wrong and one person ends up paying the price for a stupid decision made by someone.. Even if it is the criminal getting hurt, it is a unfortunate situation. Sometimes though, the events of a robbery leave you scratching your head about how someone could be so dimwitted. Now you can come to the conclusion that if someone is robbing someone to begin with, they probably aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Some of the decisions made by criminals are downright confusing though. Check out some of the dumb decisions made by these thieves. These are pretty incredible.
1. This is one of the robbery cases sure to make you angry. In 1971, a man named Katko tried robbing an Iowa farmhouse. The owner of the farm, a man named Briney, had booby-trapped his house because he was tired of constantly getting robbed . Katko set the trap off, and was shot in the legs. Katko ended up suing Briney for damages, and won. Told you it would make you mad.
2. A 22 year-old Russian girl named Julia Popova was walking home when she was attacked by a mugger. She was able to successfully free herself, and made it home. Upon her return however, she discovered she had been stabbed in the neck with a large knife and had no idea during the long walk home! Oh Russia.
3. This is just bad luck. A Croatian women died in her apartment, and she wasn’t discovered until 35 years later in 2008. The only reason she was even found at all is because thieves broke in. The smell must have been absolutely terrible.
4. This one is actually pretty funny. A company in Germany named Bahlsen had a giant cookie hanging above their entrance. Thieves stole it and demanded the company send cookies to charities! The company complied with the demands and the giant cookie was returned unharmed.
5. Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd is one of the most notorious bank robbers in history, and was hated by many. He was also loved by common people however and was quite famous. At every bank he would rob he would destroy the mortgage files, freeing people from their debt. I know I wouldn’t complain.
6. This is one bad man! During a robbery, a 90 year-old man named Samuel Cutrufelli was shot in the head. Brushing that off, he said to the robber “Now it’s my turn!” He then went on to shoot the robber several times in the abdomen.
7. This may be one of the more awesome robbery stories out there. In 2008, a robber used Craigslist to put an advertisement out for construction workers. He told them to wait outside the Bank Of America with a specific work uniform on. He then robbed the bank, wearing the same uniform as the workers he had contacted. He would then flee with his decoys waiting outside of the bank.
8. I’d be pretty upset if this happened to me. An Air Force Captain named Nicolas Aquino was arrested for burglary while entering his own home. He was then charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice!
9. In 2012 a man high on bath salts named Charles Smith broke into Ervin Brittnacher’s home. Brittnacher, who was a 79 year-old former bull rider, punched Charles Smith straight in the throat and knocked him unconscious. It’s never a good idea to mess with a cowboy.
10. This guy is the last person you would expect to be doing this! Called by some as the most prolific bank robber in U.S. history, Carl Gugasian robbed over 50 banks during his time. His nickname was the “Friday Night Bank Robber.” Astonishingly, he was also a PHD student, and a black belt!
11. Do not mess with this old lady! While attempting to rob the house of a 95 year-old women, Robert Horsley was repeatedly stabbed in the hands by the homeowner with a screw driver. When he was found, he was passed out on the porch from loss of blood.
12. Teddy Roosevelt is possibly our most bad ass president. While on a hunting expedition, Roosevelt’s raft was stolen by a band of thieves. Not to be deterred by the icy conditions, Roosevelt and his party built a makeshift raft and sailed downstream. They caught up with the thieves after three days!
13. Fame definitely has its advantages. NBA player Lou Williams was being held up at gun point, until his assailant realized who he was. The two had a short conversation, and Williams ended up taking the mugger for ice cream.
14. Apparently some robbers want you to know how they justify their crimes. That’s exactly what Australian bank robber Ned Kelly wanted when he penned an 8,000 word justification of his crimes and forced his accomplices to give it to the bank teller.
15. Just a picture of Dolf Lundgren was enough to send these thieves packing. Three men broke into the Swedish actor’s house and tied up his wife. After seeing a picture of him and realizing whose house it was, they ran out with their tails between their legs.
16. Bruce Lee’s bad ass genes were definitely passed down to his late son Brandon. He came home to his house to find a robber inside, and chased him around. The robber eventually grabbed a knife, but Brandon disarmed him and held him until the police arrived.
17. Upon arriving on the island of Guam, Magellan had ships full of cargo. When the natives saw them they just started unloading the ship, having no knowledge of property ownership. After seeing this Magellan named the island the “Island of Thieves.”
18. While attempting to steal a Koala from the Rockhampton Zoo in Australia, thieves discovered the animal to be vicious. They decided to steal a crocodile instead…
19. This is just something David Copperfield would do. In 2006 he tricked some muggers into believing he had absolutely nothing on him. In reality, he had his wallet, phone and his passport!
20. This is kind of a weird coincidence. The New York blackout of 1977 saw the emergence of hundreds of new DJ’s because on that day during the blackouts a lot of DJ equipment was stolen.
21. After breaking into a house in Central Florida, three robbers thought they hit the jackpot when they found what appeared to cocaine. They later found out it was the ashes of a man and his dogs!
22. This guy is definitely in the running for dumbest robber ever. A man named MacAuthur Wheeler robbed a store with lemon juice on his face. His reasoning was that since lemon juice can be used for invisible ink, it would make his face invisible to the cameras. who thinks of this stuff…
23. When a man was surrounded by police inside the store he was robbing, he decided it would be best to just give up. It wasn’t until too late that he realized they weren’t cops at all, they were simply extras on the set of a movie being filmed.
24. This is one persistent old lady. After snatching a purse, Jenar Sanders was pursued by the elderly lady he grabbed it from for over a mile. She eventually cornered him in an alley and gave him a bible lesson about not stealing.
25. Don’t break into a cartoonist house. When the home of Australian cartoon artist William Ellis Green was broken into, he was able to sketch a portrait so accurate, it led to the criminals immediate capture.
While some of these criminals are really dumb, others were actually pretty darn brilliant. That construction worker ruse was pretty well thought out. In the end though, stealing is wrong, and these people definitely belong in jail.