Vancouver man arrested after bizarre standoff with Banjo!

VANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) - A Vancouver man was taken into police custody after a standoff that featured the suspect serenading officers with a banjo.

Officers were called to the 8500 block of NE 36th Circle after reports of a naked man walking around with a knife.  When they arrived at the man’s home, he refused to surrender.

Neighbors saw the man, identified by police as Andrew Helmsworth, yelling at officers, and said at one point, Helmsworth walked outside with a banjo, which he played for the officers.

Witnesses said the officers eventually subdued Helmsworth with what appeared to be a non-lethal round and took him into custody.

According to police, the investigation revealed that Helmsworth had assaulted a family member.

Helmsworth was arrested on a charge of felony assault and lodged at the Clark County Jail, police said.

KPTV - FOX 12

Police blotter: Banjo thieved, laptop stolen while owner showered

Someone stole a Martin acoustic guitar and a Deering Good Time banjo from an unlocked Jetta parked on the 1900 block of Florence on Monday morning.  

Police are investigating a burglary in which someone kicked in a door at the Budget Motel and stole a laptop computer while the owner was in the shower. The theft was reported at 11:44 p.m. Monday.  

A caller at 10:58 p.m. Monday said someone had punctured a tire on their vehicle parked at Silver Bow Homes.

http://mtstandard.com/news/local/police-blotter-banjo-thieved-laptop-stolen-while-owner-showered/article_d5796a32-a94e-11e3-8648-001a4bcf887a.html

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Tourist who killed with banjo jailed for 12 years

BY CLIO FRANCIS    -      Last updated 11:54 18/09/2009

The Hungarian divemaster who shoved a banjo down a man's neck, killing him, is a "disgrace" to his country, his victim's family says.

Ferdinand Ambach, 31, successfully used the controversial provocation defense during his trial for the murder of Aucklander Ronald James Brown, 69.

On December 7, 2007, police discovered Mr Brown lying on the stairs at his Onehunga flat with a red banjo shoved down his throat.

Ambach was found barricaded in a cupboard on the second floor. Mr Brown died two days later in hospital.

Government regulation of banjos works to curb Bluegrass violence

As Posted in…

by:

Rick Robinson

Author, Writ of Mandamus

Over two decades ago, an Ohio man bludgeoned his wife to death with a banjo (two banjos to be specific — he broke the first one). According to the Cox News Service report, neighbors were shocked. Other than playing “Fox on the Run” over and over again while attempting to sing all three parts of the harmony by himself, the man seemed normal.

Still, this senseless tragedy set into motion a series of events in which quick and decisive government regulation solved the national epidemic of senseless Bluegrass violence.

According to a recently produced public television documentary, it was a sad time in America’s history when banjos were readily available to any person that happened to wander into a music store. It’s hard to remember such a time, but at one point in our history banjos were not registered. No identification was required to purchase one. No musical aptitude checks were performed on potential owners.

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