A Massachusetts man riding high after winning $500 in the lottery jumped onto the roof of a car to celebrate, only to be brought back to earth by police, who busted him for property damage — and possession of marijuana, officials said.
Cops arrested Joseph Taglieri, 31, outside of his apartment on Prince Street in Boston yesterday, after watching him scream "YEEESSSS!!!!!" and leap onto a nearby 1994 Toyota Camry, denting the roof, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's Office.
"I was having such a bad day," Taglieri told the Herald today, adding he was having money problems. "The first number says I've won $500 so I start jumping up and down, like out of control. I didn't mean to jump on the hood of the car but I was happy ... It was almost like everything was going to be OK."
When the cops arrested him, Taglieri told them that he was carrying marijuana, he and the DA's office said. Police found a sandwich bag in his pocket that they believed to contain more than one ounce of marijuana, according to the DA. Police hustled him down to the station for booking.
"I didn't even get to finish scratching the scratch ticket," Taglieri said, adding that he had not realized he had dented the car.
In 2002, Taglieri was convicted on drug distribution charges, and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to the district attorney's office. In 2008, he was convicted of breaking and entering and he appeared in court again on drunken driving charges last year, the DA said.
Taglieri told the Herald that he was carrying about half an ounce of marijuana. Carrying less than one ounce of marijuana is not a crime in Massachusetts, though the person can be fined.
Taglieri was arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court on charges of destruction of property and marijuana possession. Taglieri's lawyer David Fitzgerald could not be immediately reached for comment.
Taglieri, who was allowed to keep his scratch-off winner, is due back in court Sept. 21.
$500???! Imagine if he won $50 M??! What a loser...
EXACTLY!!!! Forget the pot, I cant believe he done all that over $500, granted when i hit $500 i get excited but i dont do stupid stuff.
$500.00 will make everything OK,? your only problem can be clearly seen by looking in a mirror.and you are luckier than you even know, if that was my car your personal hood would be dented and i'd be in jail.nother thing a-hole,you're on more than mj if your acting like that.
guess we know what hell do with his 'winnings' - paying court fines, court costs and probation fees.
somehow i dont think $500 is going to cover it.
what a macaroon...
loser is the key word here, $500.00 minus arrest,court, auto repairs,should i go on ? i'm sure the hood cost $500.00.
WOW!!!! No he didn't!!!!
"your personal hood would be dented"..
"I didn't mean to jump on the hood of the car but I was happy ..."
Oh, well ok then, Joe, as long as you didn't mean to jump on the hood of the car it's ok. And you had extenuating circumstances anyway - you were happy.
Oh, by the way, the cops said you were jumping up and down on the roof of the car, not the hood. You must have been really happy. So that's understandable.
I was just wondering how you tell the judge you got on the roof of a car without meaning to.
I would use the defective Pogo-Stick defense, Joe.
There's no way it was your fault.
"extenuating circumstances" uhh.. your honer my client had to walk up the w/shield to crush the roof,what if if broke and he was hurt by broken glass ? judge: well then he can sue the glass co. and the creator of sand.
Maybe he can try the insanity defence.
oh yea, thats their 2nd fav. the 1st is temp. insanity.
Maybe he was happy about the possibility of splurging on an upgrade that night.
What an idiot! I would be happy and maybe yell for a second before going back to the store to claim my money.....but all this over $500? Don't get me wrong that's a good amount of money for anyone.....but not Millions! After court costs and paying for the guys roof he will probably be hundreds of dollars in the hole....Must been nice while it lasted....but the hangover is going to be awful