from the "You Couldn't Make It Up" files:

This story just begs to be amended.

Clown-costume suspects charged in Mexico heist

AP Fri Oct 9, 1:04 am ET
MEXICO CITY – They aren't laughing now.

Prosecutors in western Mexico say they have filed robbery charges against two alleged members of a gang of thieves blamed for a "clown jewels" caper.

The gang — some of whose members dressed up in clown costumes — burst into a jewelry store in the western city of Guadalajara on July 26 and made off with at least 1.2 million pesos ($900,000) worth of booty. The clown costumes were later found abandoned in a car.

In an announcement issued Thursday, the prosecutor's office in the state of Jalisco says two of six suspects have been caught and charged while a third has been detained pending investigation.

It says one of the suspects confessed to being the one of the men behind the masks, seeking the "clown jewels."

Here's what the AP writer was just dying to add but couldn't because it would be ... well ... clown journalism! :o)

Jalisco prosecuters have organized a major crimes task force composed of two officers who will, under cover of gaudy outfits, infiltrate the "Clown Jewel" Gang. Inspector Jorge Jesus Kelly stated the cost of organizing the task force "won't cost much" because they can re-use the clown costumes left behind in the miniature get-away car.
[Task Force members seen here, clowning it up for the cameras]













The Task Force hopes to utilize the services of Pepe-lito, the K9 Wonder from Sausalito, to sniff out the 3 suspects who remain at large. Jorge Jesus Kelly of the Jalisco persecutor's office stated "He works cheap, for chorizo, so my mother will provide these things."

















A large footprint taken from the latest crime scene indicates that the alleged perpetrator's shoe would look something like this:








Inspector Kelly reminds citizens to be on guard, as the suspects may be armed with water-squirting flowers and big foam noodles.

Okay, enough clowning around. Back to work for me!