Abduction Prank Lands Teens in Hot Water
Witness calls 911 after seeing kids wrap friend in plastic wrap, throw him in trunk
NBC Philadelphia - Doug Shimell
Several teens looking for something to do staged an abduction at a parking lot in Whitehall Township Sunday Night and recorded the joke on a cell phone. Whitehall police were not amused.
What was meant to be a joke among friends grew into a real life drama for four Lehigh Valley teens.
Steve Coutumas, 18, says he and his three buddies were bored when they hatched a plan to stage a fake abduction in a shopping center parking lot Sunday evening.
"I think it just all got outta hand," Coutumas said.
The plan was simple -- Speed up to their friend John, wrap him in plastic wrap, throw him into the trunk of a car and drive away. The only problem was witnesses thought the whole thing was real and they called police.
"It was really stupid of us to do that, but we really didn't think anyone would take us seriously…sorry it was just a joke," Coutumas said.
The teens were only a few miles away from the K-Mart in Whitehall, Pa. where they grabbed John when the sirens started blaring.
"They were pointing guns at us and we were like 'Whoa, what's going on," the teen said. "Then they asked if there was anything in the trunk and we're like it's our friend."
As many as seven Whitehall Police cruisers surrounded the car to apprehend the teens, officials said.
While many people may find the whole ordeal funny, Whitehall Police Chief Ted Kohuth isn't laughing.
"It was youthful indiscretion, it was foolish, it was stupid," Chief Kohuth said. "It did to a certain extent put the public at risk and certainly the responding police officers."
The teens were charged with disorderly conduct. "We cannot tolerate that type of foolish conduct in public places," Chief Kohuth said.
Police also confiscated a cell phone on which the entire hoax was recorded. While allegations were made that the teens intended to post the video on YouTube, Steve says that's not true.
Posted Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010 - 10:05 PM EST
Top Stories
