Md. man sentenced for stealing library's tarantula

[July 28, 2010]  WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) -- A Maryland man has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing a spider from a public library. Carroll County Circuit Judge J. Barry Hughes sentenced 27-year-old Randy Humple of Westminster Monday.

Staff at the Westminster library called police May 19 after they discovered Chili Rose, a Chilean Rose tarantula at the information desk, had disappeared. Witnesses told authorities they saw Humple with the spider and that he bragged about swiping it.

Hughes also sentenced Humple to four years in prison for violating his probation in a 2007 assault case. Humple told the judge he knows he's done some stupid things and he wants to serve his sentence.

The judge said that while what Humple did may have been "stupid on one level," it was also "criminal on another level."

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Information from: Carroll County Times of Westminster, Md.,
http://www.carrollcounty.com/

[Associated Press]

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