We offer you three bizarre run-ins with the law. Three of the incidents are true, one is bogus. Can you spot the impostor?

1. Police in San Diego chased down and arrested a 42-year-old man suspected of shoplifting several packages of corn removers from a Wal-Mart store. The chase was an easy one for the cops because the painful corns on the suspect's feet made it difficult for him to run.

2. A man accused of burglary appeared in a Spokane court with two front teeth missing, his right foot in a cast, and 12 stitches across his forehead. The story the prosecutor laid out told it all. The crowbar the would-be burglar used to pry open the warehouse window slipped and caught him squarely in the mouth. The man threw down the crowbar, which hit his foot, breaking two bones. Bending over to grab his pained appendage, he slammed his head against the windowsill. When police arrived a short time later, they found the burglar lying on the ground, knocked out cold.

3. Threatened with a shotgun, a liquor store clerk in Colorado Springs handed over all the money in his cash register. Not satisfied with just the cash, the greedy crook also demanded a bottle of scotch from behind the counter. The clerk refused, claiming the man didn't look over 21. After arguing, the man pulled his wallet and showed the clerk the birth date on his driver's license. When the robber had gone, the clerk called police and reported the name and address he'd seen on the license. Within two hours, the dumb-as-mud thief was in custody.

4. After being released on bail for an armed robbery, a Philadelphia man was anxious to get some cash for his drug habit. Living in an apartment just above a tavern, he decided to hold up the place for an easy payday. He entered the bar with a gun and demanded the cash. The bartender obliged and gave him the receipts from the register. The defendant then fled back upstairs to his residence. Ten minutes later police arrived and arrested him at the kitchen table, counting the money. Unfortunately for him, the bartender was also his landlord, who identified him at the scene.

Have you guessed which of these incidents is a figment of the Crime Wave's own twisted imagination? Click here for the solution!

Want to play again? Here's more Spot the Impostor.

© 2002-08 by Carl Brookins, Ellen Hart and William Kent Krueger.
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The imposter is: #2