On February 3, 1990, a Renton (Seattle area) man tried to commit
a robbery. This was probably his first attempt, as suggested by
his lack of a record of violent crime, and by his terminally stupid
choice:

   1.The target was H&J Leather & Firearms, a gunshop; 

   2.The shop was full of customers, in a state where a substantial
     fraction of the adult population is licensed to carry concealed
     handguns in public places; 

   3.To enter the shop, he had to step around a marked King County
     Police patrol car parked at the front door; 

   4.An officer in uniform was standing next to the counter, having
     coffee before reporting to duty. 

Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a holdup and
fired a few wild shots. 
The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, removing him from the
gene pool. 
Several other customers also drew their guns, but didn't fire.
No one else was hurt. 

[AP,St. Louis, MO] Robert Puelo, 32, was
   apparently being disorderly in a St. Louis market.
   When the clerk threatened to call police, Puelo
   grabbed a hot dog, shoved it in his mouth, and
   walked out without paying for it. Police later
   found him unconscious in front of the store:
   paramedics removed the six-inch wiener from his
   throat, Where it had choked him to death.

Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, N. J.,
in September, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, by a
quarter-stick of dynamite that blew up in their car. While
driving around at 2a.m., the bored couple lit the dynamite
and tried to toss it out the window to see what would happen,
but they apparently failed to notice that the window was closed.