Alleged Thrown Snowball Nets 13-Year-Old A Felony Charge

By aaroncynic in News on Feb 21, 2014 10:05PM

While one can usually throw a snowball in some Chicago neighborhoods without much incident, a 13-year-old boy in Austin is facing felony charges for the act. The Chicago Tribune reports shortly after school let out at George Leland Elementary, a ball of white powdery mixture flew towards a marked police vehicle from a group of about 15 children, striking either the car or the officer. The eighth grade boy, who says he didn’t commit the act and was singled out by the school’s security guard and dean, was taken into custody and charged with felony aggravated battery to a police officer.

The boy’s mother, who said it was the first time he had ever been in trouble, told the Tribune:

“He kept trying to tell the officer that he didn’t do it but they didn’t believe him. He was standing on the corner, there was a whole crowd of kids. It’s so crazy."

While some people believe the charges are overblown, at least one resident seemed to believe that a thrown snowball is the first step to the living a hard life of crime. Ray Fields, an educator and resident of the block where the incident occurred, told DNAInfo Chicago “If [the boy] had gotten away with it, who's to say what they'd do next? If it doesn't stick to them now, they'll be 16 or 17, and they'll have a gun.”

Other residents however, see it differently.

Latanya Powell, a local construction worker said “It's just going overboard. I can see if it were a weapon and harm was done, but it was just a snowball.” Mary Grant, another long time resident of the block, told DNAInfo “It’s not fair. (The boy) was being hardheaded, but that's very harsh. The officer should've tried something different than arrest.”

The felonious snowball thrower maintains his innocence and also said the alleged missile never even struck the officer. “He (the officer) said the snowball hit him but it hit the car, not him,” he told the Tribune.

Meanwhile, Snowbrawl 2014 went off without a hitch. No vehicles or arms were harmed and no arrests were made.