History Main / AmbiguousCriminalHistory

* ''WebAnimation/DontWalkHomeAloneAfterDark'': PlayedForHorror in ''The Worm''. It's never fully detailed what Sparrow did to get her landed in a mental hospital, but it's implied to have been pretty serious, with the narrator (Sparrow's therapist) stating that when he met Sparrow he'd been half expecting an “uncontrollable monster” and that it was hard to reconcile the small, quiet teenager in front of him with what she had done. A newspaper in one shot states she was taken into custody over her suspected involvement in the murder-suicide of her friends and an older man, but it's unclear what exactly went down. In the comment section on the video, creator Andy Coyle simply said that Sparrow did [[IDidWhatIHadToDo "What she had to…"]]

** "[[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS8E08TwelveHornyWomen Twelve Horny Women]]" has a subplot about the gang bragging about their supposed run-ins with the law as teenagers, with Barney getting arrested numerous times and being friendly with the bailiff; Ted getting mug shots and getting locked up constantly; Robin throwing a TV out a closed hotel window and [[CanadaEh getting caught drunk driving a Zamboni while naked]]; and Lily terrifying the kids in her neighborhood, [[MinorWithFakeID using a fake ID]], drinking underage, and antagonizing police officers. In the end, Robin, Ted, and Barney admit they made most of it up, but TheStinger implies that Lily's exploits really happened.

* ''WebVideo/PiratesSMP'': As of the start of the SMP, Kuervo has been on the run from the Armada of Naya for three years for unspecified reasons. It takes until the finale for this to [[SubvertedTrope become resolved]] -- [[spoiler:he's a DangerousDeserter who committed mass {{tyrannicide}} against eight of the ten Armada commanders after finding out they sent his older brother to his death.]]

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[[folder:Web Original]]
* Riley from ''Podcast/LessIsMorgue'' seems to be banned from pretty much everywhere in Florida. Why? Probably best we don't ask.
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* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Halbrand, a mysterious roguish man Galadriel meets in the Sundering Seas, alludes several times at some unforgiving things he had to do to survive when his home was taken by Orcs. He never specifies what happened, and Galadriel doesn't pushes the matter, believing Halbrand can redeem himself as whatever he did, it was not done from a place of malice. [[spoiler:Subverted after it's revealed that Halbrand is Sauron is disguise. His bad deeds are quite clear at this point.]]

* ''Series/DeadLikeMe'': The strait-laced office manager Delores offhandedly mentions that her time in TheEighties included "cocaine, tattoos, and all those restraining orders", and is quite blasé about bailing George out of jail. She declines to clarify.

* When Mike and Bob are imprisoned in the hut in the native village in ''Film/JungleGoddess'', Bob remarks that he's been in less comfortable jails than this. On ''Series/MST3K'', Crow replies "That's nothing to be proud of!".

** Coach Z, adding to his general sketchy air, has been stated to be wanted in multiple states, has been in junvenile prison despite being one of the older cast members and spent a lot of the show's hiatus in prison awaiting trial for something that's never confirmed but Bubs is certain that he's guilty.

* Mickey in ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' tells Pee-wee he got in trouble with the police because he got angry and used a knife... to [[MattressTagGag cut off one of those mattress tags]] that say "Do Not Remove Under the Penalty of Law".

* The titular character of the Sloppy Seconds song "Ice Cream Man" mentions that he "just got parole", which implies that he had recently been released from prison and is just one of the song's hints that this ice cream man [[BadHumorTruck isn't a good person]].

** Casually mentioning he has been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower.

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'': When Jack's list of crimes is being read out, one of the entries is "impersonating a cleric of the Church of England". [[NoodleIncident The context of this is never explained]], and nor is Jack's little smirk when he hears it.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Shepard Book is an unassuming preacher who frequently displays either far more competence with firearms or hand-to-hand combat that one would ever suspect, or deep familiarity with the criminal underworld. Multiple characters note this, but Book refuses to ever elaborate. [[spoiler:Side materials eventually reveal that Book used to be an Operative, a black ops agent for the government.]]

* The titular character of the Sloppy Seconds song "Ice Cream Man" mentions that he "just got parole", which implies that he had recently finished serving a prison sentence and is just one of the song's hints that this ice cream man [[BadHumorTruck isn't a good person]].

-->--'''Melissa:''' ''[talking to the documentary crew filming her]'' You Sicilian? Italian? You from South [Philadelphia]? [{{beat}}] Okay, you guys workin' with the cops? 'Cause you gotta tell me.