Stupid Prank

[1bush2hog]

Some teenagers who were out riding around Sat. night decided to place a homemade devise in our mailbox. Our mailbox was blown up in the process, but thankfully no one was hurt even though my daughter was going out to investigate as she had actually seen the culprits place the device in our mailbox. Our mailbox was blown into pieces.

Apparently some good kids made a bad decision to perform this act and another one when they decided to ride back by to check out their handiwork, and we caught them. I was really ticked off thinking what could have happened to my daughter if she had been a few seconds earlier and was opening the mailbox when the device exploded.

The police were called after these guys continued to deny their involvement and now the court process will determine their future.

I feel kid of bad we called the law as I had no idea the seriousness of the charges that would be levied against these kids. I expected the cops to show up, call the parents, and let the parents work it out. Nope - these teens are now facing felony charges, which I never really expected or wanted.

I had no idea how powerful a device made with a 2 liter soda bottle out of common household ingredients, could be. The culprits claimed they learned this in high school physics class.

I am very thankful my daughter was not any closer to the mailbox than she was.

Be careful out there

 

[SkyPup]

Back in the days when we used to blow up mailboxes with M-80's, we were super lucky no one ever got hurt that I know of.

Doing the same thing now would bring out the FBI, Homeland Security, Postal Inspectors, U.S. Marshalls etc. for illegal use of an explosive device on Federal Property.

Still, it is a good thing no one got injured in your incident.

 

[riptides]

I feel kid of bad we called the law as I had no idea the seriousness of the charges that would be levied against these kids.

Don't

Sorry but lifes lessons are learned the hard way. You did the RIGHT thing.

-Mike Z.

 

[Deerlope]

Doing anything like that is considered an act of Terrorism, this is why the felony charges, You probably did the kids a favor, probably they will just get probation and not jail time.

 

[kensfarm]

We had a pretty good story going in our little town about mailbox smashing..

The kids got caught around 3:00am.. police called parents.. one of the parents was on the town board. Dad(town board) shows up.. walks up to his kid and says "What did you do".. the kid just shrugs his shoulders.. and Dad smacks him a good one.(One officer said open hand.. another said closed fist.) Well his son was in handcuffs.. under police custody.. Dad gets a free ride to jail too.. w/ multiple charges!

 

[thingy]

Learned one thing when I was a teen that stuck,,,,,if you have to fix your damages or go to jail,,it is a deterant. A good punishment would be to totally replace mailboxes and posts on the ones they blew up and three or 4 more around that needed it too,,can't leave job untill victum signs off,,,,need to put new posts better than the ones that were in there,,cemented with very deep hole,[no tractors],most expensive mail box they sell,,maybe a few flowers planted around post,,or,,spend thirty days in jail,have to do it when most traffic was on road so every one could admire their hardwork,,,spending two three weekends working hard and getting harrased and several hundred dollars of their own money will work,I had to sell a new pump shotgun one time to pay for material,,,,[course,now adays,,the most they would have to do was labor,,their parents would buy the material],most these teens will get probably will be a don't do this again speech by a judge,,and a fine which their parents will pay,,thingy

 

[MossRoad]

Some teenagers who were out riding around Sat. night decided to place a homemade devise in our mailbox. Our mailbox was blown up in the process, but thankfully no one was hurt even though my daughter was going out to investigate as she had actually seen the culprits place the device in our mailbox. Our mailbox was blown into pieces.

Apparently some good kids made a bad decision to perform this act and another one when they decided to ride back by to check out their handiwork, and we caught them. I was really ticked off thinking what could have happened to my daughter if she had been a few seconds earlier and was opening the mailbox when the device exploded.

The police were called after these guys continued to deny their involvement and now the court process will determine their future.

I feel kid of bad we called the law as I had no idea the seriousness of the charges that would be levied against these kids. I expected the cops to show up, call the parents, and let the parents work it out. Nope - these teens are now facing felony charges, which I never really expected or wanted.

I had no idea how powerful a device made with a 2 liter soda bottle out of common household ingredients, could be. The culprits claimed they learned this in high school physics class.

I am very thankful my daughter was not any closer to the mailbox than she was.

Be careful out there

When I was a kid, the cops would take your fireworks and send you home. If they caught you a second time, your folks would be involved and your butt would get beat black and blue. Since the cops can no longer let you go for fear of lawsuit reprisal, and your folks can no longer tan your hide for fear of jail time, you did the only thing you could do. Perhaps their friends will hear about their jail time and think twice.

The problem with small pranks is they lose their ability to give you a rush. So you think up bigger things. Firecrackers get old fast. So you pack a bunch of them into something to make a bigger boom. Then you get a hold of a silver salute or M80 and that really gets you going. You keep progressing to bigger thrills. Then someone in the group says "Let's go teach old man Mossroad a lesson and blow up his mailbox!" and it seems like the thing to do at the time and no one thinks his kid will step out right when it happens.

And, I must confess, I used to do stupid bologna like that when I was young. I wish someone would have stopped me and am fortunate to have not injured anyone. Now that I am older, have a family, and realize the value of life, I tend to wonder why I didn't think about what could happen to others during these "pranks". I think it boils down to some kids (and some adults) not thinking things through.

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon 1Bush2hog,
I did a bunch of stupid things growing up but that wasnt one of them

Just the other day I was talking to our postal delivery man, and the new thing kids are doing is putting a candle inside the plastic mailboxes and taking off. Sometimes the whole box just melts or the fire puts itself out. Anyway, they are tampering with something that can get them in a bunch of trouble.

On another note its said that todays zero tolerance law enforcement couldnt take a step back into yesterday ! Grab these kids, put in a new mailbox and do the work themselves, and let them pay for the damages !

 

[DAP]

Although the actual box and its contents are privately held, tampering with a private mail box or P.O. Box is considered tampering with Gov. property. Us citizens do not actually OWN our addresses per say.

As such, I'm told that these types of things can become felony charges - tampering with U.S. Mail ....

 

[EddieWalker]

I feel you did youself and your neighbors a HUGE favor by catching and turning in these kids. If they had gotten away with it, they would surely have done it again. Most all crimes are repeated by those who get away with them, and allot of the time, they get worse.

You didn't say, and might not know, how many other times they've done this, but sooner or later, somebody will get seriously injured by there prank. How would you feel if one of your neighbors little girl lost an eye or her hand sometime in the future when they did it again? I know I'd feel terrible for the rest of my life because I could have, and should have, done something to stop it when I had the oportunity.

You did right and I'd be proud to have you as my neighbor!!! Thank you.

Does anybody remember those kids that stole those street signs about twenty years ago? It might have been in Florida, but I'm not sure. They were out having fun one night and thought it was a big joke to steel them and let people drive through intersections without stop signs. Of course, there was a accident and if I remember correctly, a lady died because of thier prank.

There was some talk about the punishment being too harsh and that they were very sorry, but the judge didn't listen and sentenced them to quite a few years in jail. Does anybody know if they are out of prison yet, or any other details?

If somebody who knew them and what they were doing had done what 1bush2hog did, that lady might still be alive today, and the families wouldn't have had to go through the rest of thier lives without her. Did she have kids?

I never feel sorry for, or have any empathy for, those who commit crimes. I do have allot for the victims.

Eddie