The urge for YouTube fame got the better of a trio of three teen crooks, whose iPod recording of an assault and robbery of another teen got them arrested.
Two 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old in Waldorf, Maryland approached a 13-year-old on a neighborhood basketball court at 5:30 pm. They reportedly tried to pick an argument with the victim, who packed up his stuff and tried to walk away from them.
The suspects attacked him, striking him on the back of his head. One of the suspects recorded the assault on his iPod while the other two stole the victim’s backpack.
“This case is troubling in that the suspects committed a crime of violence, assaulted someone and actually thought to record it.” Sheriff Rex Coffey told Southern Maryland Headline News. “Law enforcement agencies across the country are seeing more and more of these crimes that, for whatever reason, kids are videotaping.”
The victim called police, officers were quickly on the scene and arrested one suspect. The iPod recording led them to the other two.
The suspects were charged as juveniles but they risk being charged as adults — meaning they could face up to 15 years in jail.
“I tell the kids that the choices they make today will affect them the rest of their lives. A bad choice could prevent them from finishing school or moving on to college or landing that job they always wanted,” said Coffey. “I don’t want to see another teen waste their life by making bad decisions.”
