For younger members of the Westhill High School boys' varsity lacrosse team, getting invited to watch a game and get McDonald's with their older teammates probably sounded like a fun time. After what transpired, nobody involved ended up with a Happy Meal.
An ill-advised hazing prank and a take-it-or-leave-it offer from a district attorney led to 11 players turning themselves in to avoid possible felony kidnapping charges. As the suburb of Syracuse, New York, comes to grips with what happened on April 24, 2025, almost a dozen teenagers head to various courts to learn their fates.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
With their season off to a less-than-stellar 2-4 start, maybe some of the older players on the Westhill boys' varsity lacrosse team figured that bonding with their younger teammates through a practical joke would help the team's performance. Perhaps they had other motives. Regardless, it would prove to be a poor decision.
A group of older players invited five of their younger teammates to watch a game before having a meal at a local McDonald's. After eating, the driver of the car containing the prankees pretended he'd gotten lost in a remote area on the way home. When he stopped, the car was swarmed by people wearing dark clothing. At least one knife and one handgun were brandished.
Four of the younger players ran away, but one was grabbed by the apparent kidnappers. They put a pillowcase over his head, tied him up, and put him in the trunk before driving him to another location and abandoning him for a while. After an uncertain amount of time, he was released and taken back home.
The perpetrators recorded themselves during the episode, finding the entire affair amusing. This proved to be one of the largest of their many errors in judgment.
Courting Disaster
On April 29, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick appeared at a press conference to address the issue in no uncertain terms. Fitzpatrick made an ultimatum to the 11 unnamed suspects involved: surrender yourselves within 48 hours and face misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment charges, or take your chances with felony kidnapping on the table later.
The suspected students didn't attempt to see if Fitzpatrick was bluffing, with all surrendering before the deadline. The district attorney wouldn't confirm if the handgun used was real, but asserted that weapons charges were not being considered.
Announcing it had removed the decision of whether to press charges from the hands of the victims' parents, the county now faces a complicated legal situation. The defendants' age span and varying culpability levels will lead to cases being handled in very different ways.
Those under 16 will go to family court, where community service or rehabilitation will be the likely punishment. New York has a youthful offender program for those between 16 and 19 years old that, if applied, seals their criminal record. There is at least one defendant in the case over the age of 18, and it's up to the court whether he is made part of the youthful offender program, is sent to the Youth Part of the state Supreme Court (which often avoids prison sentences), or tried as an adult.
Not the Results They'd Hoped For
Although he acknowledged that the majority of the team wasn't involved in the kidnapping prank, Westhill School Superintendent Stephen Dunham canceled the rest of the boys' lacrosse season. He expressed the need to "address the culture of the program." Some believe the decision was prompted by other schools indicating a reluctance to play Westhill.
Hazing has a long and ugly history in high schools and colleges. Given the involvement of weapons and the fear generated, the prank could have had a much more dire outcome.
Related Resources
- Family Law Center (FindLaw's Learn About Family Law)
- What Are Deferred Adjudication and Pretrial Diversion? (FindLaw's Criminal Procedure)
- Too Much College Fun: When Can You Sue for Hazing? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
