KEENE, N.H. - Daniel Kingery arrived in court last month wearing a half-kangaroo, half-clown costume to protest what he considers an unconstitutional system of parking.

Kingery, 40, did not impress the judge with his "kangaroo court" antics on Feb. 25 and instead was threatened with contempt. Kingery, a candidate for the town selectman, argues that the state discriminates against non-handicapped drivers by allowing people with disabled license plates to park for free, according to a spokesman for the Keene County district court.

Kingery intentionally parked at five expired meters in Keene over the course of several months. The judge is expected to soon issue a ruling in the case.

This isn't Kingery's first run in with the court system. Last year, Kingery, a former junkyard owner, served a day in another county jail on a contempt charge. Kingery also sued the town of Peterborough for $250 million in 1999 after officials shut down a strip club at his junkyard, which Kingery claimed was a cultural facility.

BANGOR, Maine — A convicted sex offender wanted in Florida fled into the Maine woods from police, and then over the next several days lost a few toes to frostbite. Now he's threatening to sue a detective for not arresting him promptly.

Harvey Taylor, 48, was arrested Feb. 11 after spending three nights in knee-high snow. His ordeal, authorities said, necessitated the amputation of three of his toes on his left foot - a condition that Taylor blames on a pursuing Penobscot County sheriff's detective. In an hospital bed interview with a local paper, Taylor said, “If [the detective] had done his job properly, I wouldn't be in here now.”

The incident began on Feb. 6 after detective Timothy Jameson approached Taylor in the town of Mattawamkeag and asked for identification. Taylor refused and jumped into a car driven by a female companion. Jameson ran to his own cruiser, turned on his sirens and lights, and chased after the vehicle. According to sheriff's department Chief Deputy Glenn Ross, After a brief pursuit, Taylor jumped out of the car and ran into the woods. Jameson followed Taylor's tracks a few hundred yards, but then abandoned the chase and sent an alert out to other authorities.

An ice storm that night followed by additional snow made conditions almost unbearable for Taylor, who was not wearing any protective gear. Taylor told authorities that he eventually started talking to God when he spotted a bird flying from tree to tree. Taylor followed the bird until he came out on a road, then took he refuge at a nearby residence. Police were called by the homeowners and Taylor was arrested the next day.

Taylor claims he thought Jameson was a "nut" and that he ran because the detective was about to remove, what he believed, was a gun from his coat. Taylor says Jameson should have done a better job of identifying himself and arresting him.

The police don't seem to be quaking in their boots over the prospect of a lawsuit. Ross told Court TV, "We're not concerned. He's the one who made the decisions and now he must live with the consequences.”

Taylor is wanted in Brevard County, Fla., for several probation violations pertaining to his conviction for sexual offenses of a minor child. Taylor, who is currently being held at the Penobscot County jail, has waived extradition to Florida.

GEORGETOWN, KY — The annual beauty pageant at Georgetown College turned ugly when a controversy over the appropriateness of a talent presentation escalated to the point that a college employee now faces a misdemeanor assault charge.

On Feb. 22, Keaton Lynch Brown, 18, a freshman from Brentwood, Tenn., was rehearsing for her dance presentation for the Belle of the Blue pageant when Kathy Wallace, director of student activities, questioned whether her planned act was lady-like. Brown, who had been voted “Miss Congeniality” by other contestants before the pageant, planned to do a lasso routine that ended with her roping a stuffed pig.

According to the police complaint, Wallace grabbed Brown by the arm, pulled her off the stage and dragged her down some steps until she hit a door frame. Wallace, a former advisor to the student government, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault. She was booked at the Scott County jail and released at her own recognizance. No future dates have yet been set.

Neither Brown nor Wallace's attorney Kathy Stein could be reached for comment.

The pageant has been a Georgetown tradition since the 1950s, with the winner receiving a $1,000 scholarship and promotion to enter another pageant. Brown, who did not seek medical treatment after the fracas, was able to compete the following day.

CANYON CITY, Oregon — Screaming, "I’m the guy you’re looking for," a murder suspect on the run drove up a wheelchair ramp in a stolen truckand crashed into a prison, police said.

Almeron "Willie" Hinton, accused of murdering his parents and wounding an Oregon State police detective on Feb. 17, was on the run for about a week. Authorities say Hinton, 45, approached the prison at about 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 23 in a stolen Ford F-350 pickup and drove through double entranceway doors, sending a vending machine spinning down the hallway.

He then pulled around the building, rammed through another entrance, and then drove in the parking lot, coming to a stop neatly between two vehicles, according to a spokesman with Grant County sheriff’s office. Damage to the building was estimated at $5,000.

Hinton, who police said cracked under the strain of living in poverty, faces murder charges in connection with the death of his parents, as well as four count of attempted aggravated murder, stemming from a shootout with police.