And finally… clowning around

A man accused of robbery has been refused a request to juggle for the jury to show that he is simply a “jester” with misunderstood motives.

In a hand-written motion submitted to the court, Orlando Melendez, 20, denied accusations that he attempted to rob a shop with a toy gun.

Instead, he claims that he was just “clowning around” when he entered the shop at 3.15am, and he could prove that he is “literally a clown” by juggling three wads of paper for jurors for 20 seconds.

Judge Robert Murphy, sitting in Springfield District Court in Ohio, responded to the motion with a single word: “Denied.”

The trial is expected to hear testimony from four to seven witnesses.

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