Police Nab 'Ninja' in Italy

A weeks-long manhunt in northern Italy for an elusive "ninja"-styled thief ended yesterday after cops pursued the robber as he fled through cornfields on a bicycle, the BBC reports. The culprit, his head wrapped in a black bandanna, had stolen onto several isolated farms at night and robbed victims with his bow and arrow.

Japanese ninjas were notorious assassins known for their stealth. This pretender—a former Russian soldier—was tripped up by an elderly farmer whose rifle accidentally discharged and frightened off the man in black. The bandit, finally busted in an abandoned farmhouse, told police his disguise was inspired by his boyhood idol, Robin Hood. (More Robin Hood stories.)