A pair of 19-year-old men have been charged with making a false report after they admitted to racing through the streets of a New York village with one of them hanging out a car window yelling he’d been kidnapped.
Adrian M. Vandeusen and Bryan R. Patrick “admitted that they were joking and laughing throughout the time they were screaming from the open vehicle windows and added that they had to stop several times because their throats hurt so much from yelling,” the Ilion Police Department said.
The incident began in the early hours of Tuesday in the villages of Ilion and Herkimer when Ilion police received reports of a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed while a person inside was screaming and calling for help. Police immediately began investigating, recovering surveillance video of part of the incident, which continued into Herkimer.
Finally, on Friday, police announced they had identified the suspects involved in what they called the “kidnapping prank” and arrested them. Both suspects were charged with false reporting, and Patrick, the driver of the vehicle, was also charged with traffic violations.
“The Village of Ilion Police Department (and other law enforcement agencies) consider reports of this nature extremely serious,” Police Chief Laurie Ann DeVaul said in a statement. “Although individuals may believe they’re only fooling around or committing a prank like something viewed on social media, these actions are nothing to joke about.”
DeVaul noted the incident incited alarm and fear in the public and caused law enforcement to devote serious time and effort into investigating what appeared to be a serious crime.
