Indiana teen could face 8 years in prison for blow-up doll prank

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Prinnctopher's Belt

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Playing with dolls could result in Tyell Morton spending the next eight years behind bars.

That's where the 18-year-old Indiana high school senior could likely celebrate graduation after his attempt at a senior prank backfired, resulting in a bomb squad evacuation of Rushville High in Rushville last week.

Morton insists all he wanted do was put a blow-up doll in a girl's bathroom as a joke. But when school officials saw surveillance video of a hooded figure wearing latex gloves entering a women's bathroom carrying a suspicious package and leaving empty-handed, they tipped off authorities.

Investigators recovered the inflatable doll and arrested the teen, who has had no previous run-ins with the law. Morton has been charged with felony criminal mischief.

"It's not right. It was a senior prank," Morton told WTHR. "They're blowing it out of proportion. I didn't hurt anybody, I didn't intend to embarrass anybody. What did I do wrong, you know?"

Robert Turner, Morton's attorney, told 6News that the charges are overblown.

"It's interesting that had he gone to school with a gun, there would've been a lesser charge. It would've been a Class D felony with up to three years," he said.

But Rush County Prosecutor Phil Caviness told WTHR that the prank -- which cost the school $8,000 -- was no laughing matter.

"In this post-Columbine world, that's what you get when these kinds of things happen," he said.


http://weirdnews.aol.com/2011/06/08/tyell-morton-prank_n_873244.html
 

Prinnctopher's Belt

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Why even go through the motions to charge him with a felony crime in the first place? I'm even more surprised the charges aren't being outright dismissed.
 

lightbeam

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#7
I figured the gloves were to make sure he wasn't caught. Also, it may have been needed for the blow up doll, as part of the inflation process. It really doesn't matter anyway.

The point is, is that it was a prank. Pranks are meant to be fun. Calling the squad in on a prank is messed up. Prosecuting the boy is only going to make the legal system get egg on their face.

Gone are the days of cherry bombs, and saran wrap on toilet bowls, and other mayhem inducing trickery. It's all gone now. Also, I wouldn't be suprised if there were cameras in the individual stalls.

Security has become paranoid.
 

Avarice

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#9
How sad. Can't even pull pranks anymore. Why do they have cameras in the girls bathroom anyway?
There aren't. They saw him entering the bathroom wearing gloves and holding a suspicious package and leave empty-handed. They didn't see what happened inside the bathroom.

But when school officials saw surveillance video of a hooded figure wearing latex gloves entering a women's bathroom carrying a suspicious package and leaving empty-handed
 

hornbeam

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#11
How has the system failed?

If my child was in a school and surveillance picked up someone wearing a hoodie entering female toilets with a suspicious package - Id want the school to call in police as well.

I doubt very much he will face 8 years in prison
 

Issaccs

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#13
How has the system failed?

If my child was in a school and surveillance picked up someone wearing a hoodie entering female toilets with a suspicious package - Id want the school to call in police as well.

I doubt very much he will face 8 years in prison
So you dont see any flaws in someone going to court over it?

To be honest though, even calling the police was ridiculous, a sane and rational individual would have checked the toilets first.
 

hornbeam

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#14
an unidentified package was placed by a person wearing a hoodie entering the female toilets of a school.

There are procedures that have to be followed and are in place for such an occurrence -

the bomb squad was called - and rightly so in my opinion - I trust the school was evacuated so that the priority was with the safety of the students - the time taken by the bomb squad and police warrants an investigation - which costs money and time- it has to be accounted for otherwise the police and bomb squad could be accused of wasting tax payers money and time -supposing someone else had placed an unidentified package in another school and while the police were investigating the original case the 2nd package had exploded causing loss of life.......

ok we know from the internet the first case was intended to be a joke - but we only know after the event.....
 

lightbeam

Antiquities Friend
#15
So they used 8000 dollars of taxpayer money. Big deal. Make the kid liable for paying it back. Sticking him in prison will just waste more taxpayer money.

Meanwhile the rich people in the area line their pockets with more taxpayer money.
 

Axiom

Account Closed
#16
...he's a kid. Pulling a prank. . . Not exactly the best prank or doing it the best way, but.. I mean come on. The only reason this is a huge deal is because he was caught. You know, ten years ago if a grad was caught doing this itd be hilarious. People are so flippen paranoid. Whens the last time a bomb went off in your neighbourhood?

Fear = paranoia = rational justification to prevent `possible fear` = new normality = new fear = ect =

nice direction we're going where an idiot cant play a joke without everyone going ape shit.

Unless... I live in dream world and bombs being placed are happening left right and center, especially at schools. ? I can see the division, but Im not ready to jump on that side of the fence where everyones out to kill me and everyone else.

Now, get in an orderly cue and say the acceptable words your allowed to say. pfft. dont want to piss of those crazies eh
 

Prinnctopher's Belt

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Wow. Some of these opinions AGREEING that the kid deserves to have an arrest record and potentially a felony criminal conviction with jail time for what should be at most a misdemeanor with no jail time, are astounding to me. Even attorneys, people who are actually educated in and licensed to practice law, agree that this is a case of overcharging and should be dismissed, as NO damage was incurred, as required by the Indiana law for which this boy is charged. $8,000 to evacuate the school and send in police for a suspicious package does not warrant jail time nor felony charges of this magnitude. Not to mention there's no intent to cause harm, either.

The only wrong here is trespassing into the girl's bathroom.
 

Prinnctopher's Belt

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#18
If the system fails and sends this innocent child to prison for this, he will come out bitter, angry, and a hardened criminal with no regard nor respect for the law. Not a good look, Indiana. Not a good look.
 

Issaccs

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#19
Wow. Some of these opinions AGREEING that the kid deserves to have an arrest record and potentially a felony criminal conviction with jail time for what should be at most a misdemeanor with no jail time, are astounding to me. Even attorneys, people who are actually educated in and licensed to practice law, agree that this is a case of overcharging and should be dismissed, as NO damage was incurred, as required by the Indiana law for which this boy is charged. $8,000 to evacuate the school and send in police for a suspicious package does not warrant jail time nor felony charges of this magnitude. Not to mention there's no intent to cause harm, either.

The only wrong here is trespassing into the girl's bathroom.
More to the point, any punishment incurred will cost more than the initial 8 grand, 8 years would cost the state literal millions over a fucking prank, when the whole thing could have been avoided by a teacher checking the bathroom.
 
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