HENRICO COUNTY, Va (WTVR) - Five area teens face felony charges, accused of throwing snowballs at cars following last Friday's snow.
Police said at least three drivers were blindsided by snowballs on Lauderdale Drive near Gayton Road in the far West End.
The teens, three 15-year-olds and two 16-year-olds, were in violation of Virginia Code 18.2-154, which labels "throwing a missile at an occupied vehicle" as a felony. A "missile" can be classified as any moving object.
CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone said for first time offenders the felony charge probably won't stick. He added the charge does send a message to other teens looking to pull off a prank.
"A lot of times they are trying to teach juveniles a lesson and get them to conform before becoming adults," Stone said. "They don't want them to commit the silly acts in the future. It's also normal for police to charge the highest thing they can in a situation because it's tougher to ramp up charges at a later date."
Police said there is nothing wrong with throwing snowballs, as long as you keep it in your yard or in a legal playing field.
