DeLand, FL - Gelando “George” Olivieri, 33, has issues with greenery. He also likes to rob liquor stores. On Thursday, Olivieri stormed into the V and F Discount Beverage in DeLand and demanded fifty dollars. To make his point, he showed off his weapons: a pair of flip-flops, a palm frond and part of a Spanish Bayonet plant.
Unfortunately for Olivieri, his $50 was not forthcoming. Guruda Sarkar, who was manning the counter, said he was pretty surprised by the weapons, but that he wasn’t just gonna hand over a fifty because some dude waved a palm frond at him. So Sarkar chased Olivieri out of the store with a bar stool and alerted police.
The cops already knew Olivieri, so it wasn’t too tough to track him down. I guess they just put out an APB for the guy with the tree and the flip-flops with his collar popped way too high.
But the Spanish Bayonet plant has really sharp points on its leaves, and could actually have cut someone if used as a weapon. So Olivieri has been charged with armed robbery and is in jail on $20,000 bail. Next time, dude, just use the flip flops.
Thanks, SoJaded, for hitting this topic in our forums!
17 responses so far ↓
1
SNOOKIE
Jun 20, 2008 at 10:07 am -that is hysterical–fear my leaf!!!!
2
thepooh5
Jun 20, 2008 at 10:15 am -roflmao - I can’t even comment for laughing. I’m getting those funny looks from co-workers again.
3
nobletrish
Jun 20, 2008 at 10:27 am -lmao….Oh I needed that laugh.
And Pooh don’t you love when everyone turns around in the office because you just busted out laughing for no apparent reason
4
thepooh5
Jun 20, 2008 at 10:31 am -Well, yes, most of the time I do love it. However, there are so many witty commenters on here and I do it so often, I fear they are beginning to question my sanity.
That’s ok, too - they would not be alone. 
5
Jack Shizz
Jun 20, 2008 at 11:17 am -Sooo in this extended game of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’…Barstool apparently beats Palm frond. Interesting.
6
Lucy
Jun 20, 2008 at 1:55 pm -Here’s a story of the plant being on the right side of the law:
“Police in Mesa, Ariz., chased driver Christopher Psomas, 38, in May after his companion, Ashley Strahan, 20, allegedly tried to pass a forged check at a business. The pair’s car ran red lights at high speeds to get out of town, then left the road near the Salt River Reservation, and when the car became disabled, kept going on foot. However, they ran smack into a bed of chola cactus, becoming virtual pin cushions. At Banner Desert Medical Center, as nurses plucked the needles from his body, Psomas, in pain and in tears, said, “I am so stupid. This is what I get for trying to run from the police.”
7
WryBread
Jun 20, 2008 at 2:35 pm -That is so funny!
I think next time he should try poison ivy. I’d fork over $50 not to get brushed with that stuff. The medication that I have to buy for it costs more than that.
And as for flip-flops, next time he should try stiletto high heels!
These people need to come to me before they head out. I could give them very good advice on how to maximize their success ratio.
8
megadeth132
Jun 20, 2008 at 4:59 pm -Well, although this guy is mentally inept, you have to give him points for creativity.
Honestly, who trys to rob a store with a plant and his collar all the way up? I would have went the gun and ski mask route but thats just fitting the stereotype of criminal style lol.
Someone needs to give the the No brain and big balls award, this is quite a rib tickler.
9
michelle
Jun 20, 2008 at 5:18 pm -LOL.
The plant was a double duty object. A weapon and it provided cover. Geese, don’t you know anything?
10
swissmiss
Jun 20, 2008 at 5:22 pm -LMAO! It is all fun and games - until someone loses an eye from a Spanish Bayonet plant. Those sharp pointy leaves are enough to put the fear into anyone, right? The man working at the counter of this store needs to be decorated with a medal for bravery.
11
Fyre_Pixie
Jun 20, 2008 at 11:10 pm -I have a century plant and those things really hurt. I wouldn’t like being assaulted by any of those desert plants.
12
WryBread
Jun 21, 2008 at 10:10 am -LOL!
Quixote tilted
windmills. Oliveri has
windmilled sharp palm fronds.
13
WWSD
Jun 21, 2008 at 10:33 am -The plant I can almost understand, but the flip-flops?
Shit, they don’t even work well as footwear!
14
skeptical
Jun 21, 2008 at 5:23 pm -Shit! What a dumbass! That’s all I can think of! What a DUMBASS!
15
ycufak
Jun 22, 2008 at 6:38 pm -My thoughts exactly…………………..Why the hell would anyone be threatened by flip-flops?
I mean the plant is quite a stretch but it DID have pointy things on it. What can you do with flip-flops, clap someone on the ears real hard?
this belongs on the Darwin Awards
16
Dakota Valkyrie
Jun 22, 2008 at 10:20 pm -That would hurt but could easily be deflected. Getting slapped would also sting but you’d have to stop laughing long enough to notice.
17
feisty76
Jun 22, 2008 at 10:30 pm -LOL! Both the story and the comments here are hysterical…and after Denim, Randy, and Kyra, I needed a light read. Put your palms together for Mr. Olivieri and his asinine yet comical methods for robbing a liquor store.
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