Criminal incompetence Wide World of Sports Dead and re-elected

Convicted drug smuggler Mike Gielen, 24, hired a helicopter at Deurne airport near Antwerp, Belgium, on Sept. 25, then hijacked the aircraft in midflight and forced the pilot to fly to Berkendaal women’s prison south of Brussels to free his wife, Kristel Appelt, 27, who is being held there on suspicion of murdering an ex-boyfriend, the Guardian reported. As inmates cheered and waved below, the pilot circled the prison yard, trying unsuccessfully to land, while Gielen put his head out of the chopper to vomit five times, before giving up and flying off. Authorities arrested Gielen and several accomplices within 24 hours when they discovered he had used his real name to hire the helicopter. “It seems the whole thing has been staged quite amateurishly,” remarked Tom van Overbeke, Gielen’s attorney.

Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff ’s deputies responding to reports of a domestic violence situation on Sept. 23 arrived at the apartment of Devon Garnett, 26, to find Garnett and two friends, fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning, watching Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Neighbors had become alarmed after hearing shouts of “Shoot! Shoot!” and “I dare you to shoot!” just before 8:30 that evening, reported the Associated Press. The deputies “thought there were guns in the house,” said Garnett, who told them, “Nope, we’re just screaming for Steven Stamkos.”

Voters in the village of Deveselu, Romania, re-elected popular Mayor Ion Aliman to a third term in a landslide victory on Sept. 27 despite the fact that Aliman had died of COVID-19 10 days before the election. The Associated Press reported that word of the mayor’s passing had spread fast among the village’s 3,000 residents, but his name still appeared on the ballots, and many villagers used the vote as an opportunity to honor Aliman, who would have celebrated his 57th birthday on election day. After the results were revealed, many villagers went to his grave to pay respects and light candles, saying, “We will make you proud” and “This is your victory.”