Prosecution possible for Twin Cities students' Homecoming 'kidnapping' prank

A nighttime Homecoming prank involving Farmington High School seniors "kidnapping" juniors went awry, and now many students face the prospect of being prosecuted, authorities said Thursday.

Late on Sept. 27, a Saturday, several seniors commandeered four juniors as part of their "war" on the younger class, tying the hands of two of them behind their back and forcing them into a car trunk, police said. Two more were put in the car's back seat.

The car was taken for a joyride, with other students in vehicles tagging along, said Police Chief Brian Lindquist. The "joy" in that ride came to a halt, however, when the car with the abducted juniors got in a fender-bender outside the high school after midnight, the chief said.

Now the Dakota County attorney's office will soon weigh who might be charged, Lindquist said. Some among the 17 students accused of participating in the prank are adults, meaning the consequence for them could be more severe than if they were still juveniles, the chief said.

Lindquist said his department's goal is not to necessarily come down hard on anyone but "to correct behavior. … It's not like we need somebody to be charged with felony kidnapping to feel good. I'm trying to scare the dickens out of everybody. I know how fragile life is."

The county attorney's office said it has yet to receive any reports from police to consider for charging.

The chief said he's not sure whether the juniors were in on the joke from the start but suspects they understood "on the front end that this is tomfoolery. But at some point in time, it became 'get me out of this trunk.' "

That senior class washed its hands of the practice, and the students in those younger grades at the time followed suit as their high school years went by. But in recent years, the pranks "started to creep back in a little bit," the chief said.

Principal Jason Berg declined to speak about the latest prank and noted that "a vast majority" of his students chose instead to participate in the many school-sponsored events all week, ranging from building floats, and attending the Homecoming parade, football game and dance.

"We ask kids to be respectful of the community when they are out and about," Berg said. "Unfortunately, there is always one of two things that grab attention."