LAFOURCHE PARISH, Louisiana – Two Louisiana teens were jailed after they taunted Central Lafourche High School, taking turns wearing a clown mask while driving circles around the school.
Students Jordan Boudreaux and Taylor Defelice, both age 17 and of Raceland, Louisiana were charged with violating a Louisiana statute which prohibits the wearing of a mask in public outside of certain holidays.
Students at the high school reported the incident to school officials. Through investigation, officers learned both teens had each worn the mask at one point.
They also found Defelice had posted a photo on Snapchat Tuesday morning of one of the two wearing the mask while riding in Defelice’s truck.
The two teenagers are now facing a sentence of no less than six months in prison with a maximum of three years, Sheriff Craig Webre said in a news release.
“Last week we issued a stern warning that this ‘creepy clown’ activity would not be tolerated and violators would be charged,” Webre said in a statement. “With rumors running rampant throughout the country, these individuals are deciding to exploit public fears for some sort of personal enjoyment, and that is simply despicable. We hope these two students serve as a lesson to others that this type of behavior will result in criminal charges.”
Lafourche Parish School District Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews said “Our school administrators will not tolerate any student causing a significant disturbance on our school campus.”
Local investigators said they were aware of several social media accounts purportedly opened by individuals posing as clowns with masks that appear sinister or menacing in nature.
“Clown or not, anyone making threats of violence to others in any form, including social media, will be investigated,” Webre said. “We have a great track record of working with social media outlets to identify perpetrators, even when they open an account under anonymity. The bottom line is, we will find you, and you will be charged. We will not tolerate anyone terrorizing our community and especially our schools.”
Likewise, in St. James Parish, authorities began searching for two individuals who walked into a local grocery story wearing clown masks, but did not “act aggressively,” according to the local sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office announced days ago that one of the individuals involved in the clown operation had been identified, but that since he was cooperating with authorities, his name would not be released.
“The individual stated that it was just an attempt at a practical joke,” the St. James Sheriff’s Office wrote on their Facebook page. “However, charges may be forthcoming. We would like to assure the public that there is no threat to public safety regarding this incident.”
Last week, Breitbart Texas reported how another Louisiana law enforcement agency made a stern warning to pranksters, saying that clown sightings in public would not be tolerated and perpetrators would be charged with “terrorizing” the community.
“If there is someone out there that thinks this is some type of fun prank that gives you attention you so strive, let me warn you now, that if you do ANYTHING that disrupts the safe learning environment for our kids, we will find you and charge you criminally with all of the laws at our disposal up to and including terrorizing,” Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz wrote in his public message on Facebook.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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