Sometimes wrongdoers outsmart police.
And then there are those suspects who make cops' jobs a whole lot easier.
Here are seven recent examples of how to do that:
1. Wear a stolen state trooper's watch. OK, Angel Cruz, 54, of Philadelphia, couldn't have known he was breaking into a trooper's personal car at a T.G.I.Friday's in Wilmington on Sunday afternoon, according to Delaware state police. As trooper and wife left the restaurant, he saw a Chevy Blazer parked close to his car, then take off. The trooper drove his wife home, then spotted the Blazer at a Sears - where Cruz was breaking into an SUV, police said. Cruz's legal problems were further compounded because the Blazer was stolen, and he was wearing another trooper's anniversary watch, which was stolen in 2007, according to a news release.
2. Crash in front of police. While Gloucester Township police were investigating one crash Sunday morning, an 18-year-old woman approached, tried to make a U-turn, struck a parked van and overturned, according to township police. Luckily, fire department personnel were on the scene to free her. She was charged with reckless driving. The first crash involved a red Saturn that struck a tree. The owner of that car claimed it was stolen, but wound up getting arrested when police found the intoxicated driver and learned he lived at the owner's address, police said.
3. Leave wallet at bank robbery. As Lloyd Virgil Barclay, 51, of Philadelphia gave Bethelhem bank tellers notes demanding money on Wednesday, he put his wallet on the counter, police said. He left with about $800, but forgot the wallet, which had two photo IDs, a Social Security card and his Philadelphia criminal registration card. The ID photos matched the man's picture in surveillance footage.
4. Lock getaway-car keys inside bank. Three men in wigs, two of them armed, duct-taped two workers and directed a half-dozen more into a restroom during a Bear, Del., bank robbery on Aug. 31, according to state police. Fleeing with their loot, they locked the bank's doors - but left the keys to their Chevrolet Aveo behind. A Ford Focus picked them up, but attracted the attention of witnesses, and the car was intercepted on a nearby highway, police said. Two sets of Atlantic County, N.J., siblings, including the Focus' female driver, were arrested.
5. Leave daughter, car at crash scene. On Thursday, Tiffany Hrycek ran a red light, hit another car, put her 10-year-old daughter on the sidewalk, and ran home, where police found her and arrested her, according to Delaware State Police. She apparently fled because she was worried about two warrants and her license was suspended.
6. When police arrive, be digging up pot. Johnstown, Pa., police went to the home of John Beltz Jr., 23, to arrest him for allegedly using a women's identity to withdraw nearly $2,7000 from her bank account. They got a little bonus business, when they found Beltz standing next to a freshly dug hole and holding a marijuana plant, police said.
7. Stop with stolen loot where cops are having coffee. This one may not be local, but it fits the theme. Inside a Mantako, Minn., Happy Chef, two deputies, who had been investigating burglaries, were taking a coffee break Wednesday night, when they got a call about a new theft. Then a pickup pulled up, matching a description, and in the back were the stolen goods, including electronics and jewelry, police said.