Penguins Vandalize TX High School
El Paso County Sheriff's deputies arrested six penguins on Tuesday, believing they are behind an incident of early morning vandalism at Clint High School. The penguin vandals are accused of breaking into the school and then using glue to close doors and turn lights on.
In a curious move, the penguin vandals also spray painted the number "2012" on a brick wall. Authorities believe they may be minions sent to spread the word about the year-end apocalypse.
Or, maybe not. It seems the six penguin vandals are actually seniors at the Texas school. Someone saw the group -- dressed as penguins -- sneaking into the high school at 3:50 a.m. Monday morning and called the police. The group seems to have randomly chosen the penguin costumes, as the school mascot is listed as the lion.
It's really too bad the boys didn't instead choose to dress up like hot buttered sloths. Now that would have been an outfit.
The teens -- Ray Pacheco, 18, Hector Soto, Robert Armendariz, 18, Brandon Soltero, 18, Omar Arballo, 18, and Manuel Cano, 17 -- have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity reports the El Paso Times. The crime, which is akin to engaging in a conspiracy to commit burglary, is a felony under Texas law.
Yep, they can potentially spend 2 years in jail for carrying out a senior prank.
Which is where the moral of the penguin vandal story comes into play. Senior pranks are good and fun, but they should never leave any lasting damage. Students should also avoid pranks that leave a big mess. Such pranks cross the line and go from funny into criminal territory.
Related Resources:
- Update: 6 Clint High School teens face felony charges after senior prank (KFOX14)
- Vandalism (FindLaw)
- 'Criminal' Penguin Caught on Camera in Antarctica (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
