There was a time in my life when one of my favorite things was to read was dumb crook news. Some criminals did some truly stupid things that led to very entertaining stories.

Then, later, my laughter was more often at some of the crazy Florida man stories that you would come across on the internet (as someone who was born in Florida, I think that I’m allowed to laugh at them). I know that crazy things happen everywhere, but the Florida Man hashtag and search results came up with some of the wildest ones.

But what do you get when you cross Florida Man with dumb crook news? You may end up with today’s story with what has to be one of the stupidest ways to get yourself shot. Carlos Garcia writes,

A man was shot and killed after trying to rob another man using a fake gun made out of a screwdriver duct-taped to a piece of wood, according to Florida police.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters in a media briefing that the lethal incident resulted from a pre-planned robbery gone awry.

Christian MacDonald arranged to meet with Robert Rafael Cruceta Pimentel at the Tropicana Resort Motel in Davenport on Tuesday just before midnight in order to purchase marijuana from him, according to detectives.

Unbeknowst to MacDonald, Cruceta Pimentel had allegedly plotted with a third man, Harold Sepulveda-Cruz, to rob him with the fake gun.

When Cruceta Pimentel got into the car with MacDonald, Sepulveda-Cruz jumped into the back of the car, pointed the fake gun at the back of MacDonald’s head, and began beating him with it. He demanded that MacDonald hand over the money and drugs while the man pleaded with Cruz to not shoot.

MacDonald then pulled out a very real 9mm handgun and shot behind him 10 times, striking Sepulveda-Cruz and killing him.

Now, I’m not going to say that I wish the end result on that guy (I don’t). I don’t wish death on other people.

Having said that, doing criminal things, and doing it with a fake gun, at that, is downright moronic. In a drug deal, did he really think that the other guy wouldn’t be armed?

So, this story had a tragic ending, but I have to admit: the idea of failure using a fake gun made from a screwdriver, piece of wood, and duct tape (which fixes everything, doesn’t it?) did make me laugh.