Two students at James Madison University were arrested and charged with felonies for throwing snowballs at a city snow plow and an unmarked police cruiser on Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va.
The Smoking Gun reports that Charles Joseph Gill and Ryan William Knight, both 21, each face one to five years in prison and a maximum $2,500 fine, if convicted.
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5 Responses to When Snowballs Are Outlawed …
11211250 - February 10, 2010 at 7:08 am
Thank CAR54 the Harrisonburg police were there to apprehend these snowbombers. (My stars and garters they could have even had snowballs hidden in their underpants.) The police report said that the perps (should we call them what they really are and use the “t” word?) threw shovels full of snow at the snow plow and at the unmarked police vehicle. Some fragments of the snowbombs enetered the officers’ vehicle. FIVE calls were made to the Harrisburg police station over a three-hour period reporting that a felony in process. (Why did it take over three hours for the Harrisonburg SnoWAT team so long to respond?) George and Dick, want to know where the WMDs ended up? The Harrisonburg police have a lead. (Why didn’t the Harrisburg police file a report with Homeland Security or at least the FBI.) Thank Deputy Dawg the Commander of Criminal Investigations squad of the Harrisburg Police Department issued a News Release in order to make this a “teaching moment.” It read in part, “This incident happened in the middle of a snowstorm, when road conditions were already dangerous.” (Do you know that a research study from a Washington Think Tank found that 100,000 deaths per year can be linked to snowball throwing? Please note, however, that this study reported a correlation between people who had thrown snowballs during their lives and were also involved in a fatal car crash. This is not to suggest causality but just a scientific correlation. However, you draw your own conclusions.) I hope cable news picks up on this new threat.
lontraman - February 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Some people clearly have too much time on their hands…
kleg1177 - February 10, 2010 at 1:01 pm
A prison sentence seems excessive, but I think they should be called to account for their actions. People should never throw shovels full of snow at vehicles. That’s just stupidity.
speterfreund - February 10, 2010 at 1:25 pm
The official report makes mention of snowballs, not shovels-full. Had it been the latter, a booking on a misdemeanor charge and a stern reprimand might have been merited. I assume that during the snow emergency then in effect, public works and public safety personnel had more demanding things to do than to to run in a couple of chuckleheads on felony charges for so trivial an offense. And if anyone thinks such treatment will set an example for other chucleheads, I have this bridge I’d like to sell you.
22086364 - February 10, 2010 at 1:40 pm
I’m with speterfreund here. The men did wrong, and should be held to account; however, prison seems excessive, foolish, and just plain wrong. I know a woman who was regularly absused by her boyfriend; when all was said and done, he was told to leave her alone. Despite bruising, a record of calls to their residence, and the victim’s own testimony, the crime of beating a woman, and breaking her bones, merited only a scolding. Being a jackass with snowballs hardly merits punishment in excess of those offered for maliciously abusing one’s “loved one”.