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Throw snowballs, get charged with a felony
Posted by Bigfoot on February 9th, 2010
This past weekend’s snowstorm produced some mischief in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where two students at James Madison University have landed in deep trouble for throwing snowballs. Felony charges might sound excessive, until you learn what they were throwing at.
Felony snowball throwing charges have been leveled against two Virginia college students for allegedly pelting a city plow and an undercover police car during Saturday’s blizzard. Charles Gill and Ryan Knight, both 21, were nabbed by cops in Harrisonburg, where they attend James Madison University.
As these two learned the hard way, throwing something at an occupied vehicle is a felony in Virginia.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. A felony is a serious offense. You lose the right to bear arms, the right to vote and the ability to find gainful employment is also damaged since many companies won’t hire felons. Shoplifters, wife beaters, drunk drivers, and other miscreants all deserve more punishment than a snowball thrower….you think its okay to ruin a guys life over a snowball? These cops have no heart at all. Give them 20 hours of community service and drop the felony charges….give these kids a break.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Mike,
I have a feeling that once these kids lawyer up, this will get pled down to a misdemeanor and they’ll get probation and maybe community service. They’re stupid kids doing a stupid, but serious, thing.
The point of the matter is that they were throwing objects at moving vehicles. If those objects, as harmless as a snowball, can distract or startle the driver of a motor vehicle… that can lead to danger to the driver and others. Which is what makes such an offense a felony.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Fools!
No doubt, lawyers will get the charge reduced, however.
JMU is a party school, BTW.
February 10th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
A snowball fight is a snowball fight, but what do the vehicles targeted have to do with that fight?
As a former long-haul trucker, I can tell you how disconcerting it is when something hits your vehicle when you’re not expecting it, and then we’re talking up to 47,000 pounds potentially out of control on icy streets. Not a good situation, to say the least.
There is a reason for the law. Is it a little heavy to charge them with a felony? Probably, but with no charge at all it would only increase until someone really did cause an accident, then all the leftists that want to protect us from everything imaginable would have a field day trumpeting the dangers.