Plan on egging a house or prank calling on Halloween? Why these tricks can treat you to jail
Halloween is just days away, and some people are planning to take advantage of the night with mischief.
But while tricks may be embraced temporarily, some can result in severe consequences, like a hefty fine or jail time.
Consider the case when a mother led middle school kids in a toilet paper prank on her neighbor’s house in Colleyville, Texas.
She received a $1,900 fine and was charged with criminal mischief. She had to pay and write an apology letter to her neighbor to get the charge dismissed.
Here are five pranks that may seem harmless but could result in arrest and a misdemeanor or felony charge in Texas.
Taking too much candy
If you see a bowl of candy on someone’s property with a sign that says “Take one,” and you take more, it could be considered theft in Texas. Texas attorney Jesse Hernandez shared this legal opinion in reaction to a viral TikTok video of a mother encouraging her kids to take handfuls of treats.
“In the state of Texas, if you unlawfully take someone’s property with the intent to permanently deprive them of that property, and you don’t have their consent, that is theft,” Hernandez said. “This was a conditional gift, anything more than one i am not giving you, which means you were stealing it.”
Theft is a value-based crime in Texas. Penalties can range from a minimum of a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, to a felony.
Scaring strangers
Halloween is all about being spooky, but if you go too far to scare a stranger, you could face misdemeanor assault charges.
Regardless of your intentions at the time, if the person you are scaring thinks you are threatening “imminent bodily injury,” you might be in trouble.
Misdemeanor assault is a charge that can be applied to a number of circumstances in Texas, including physical contact, threats, or bodily harm.
You may be subject to fines, probation, and perhaps a year in jail if you are found guilty of misdemeanor assault.
Pretending to be a monster
In 2021, a Texas lawyer was charged with disorderly conduct for wearing a Michael Myers serial killer costume while walking on the beach in Galveston.
Police showed up at the scene with guns drawn until he told them his rubber knife and costume were a prank.
The charge was later dismissed, but it was originally incited because beachgoers described it as a threat and breach of peace.
Here are some actions to avoid in your costume to prevent a disorderly conduct charge, which can be punished with a fine to jail time:
- Use of foul or abusive language
- Publicly offensive gestures (like the middle finger)
- Bad smells in a public setting
- Making threats against someone in a public setting
Throwing eggs
Texas police consider throwing eggs at homes, cars, or people as vandalism or criminal mischief.
To be guilty of criminal mischief, according to criminal justice attorney Shane Phelps, a person must have:
- intentionally or deliberately caused harm to another person’s property
- changed someone else’s property in a way that resulted in a loss or issue
- Painted graffiti or “tagged” a property that wasn’t theirs
Penalties for criminal mischief can range from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on the damage.
Phelps said in addition to fines and restitution, young offenders could face juvenile detention, probation, and community service.
Prank phone calls
You may want to scare someone with a mystery call, but you should be careful in how you go about it.
Prank calls that threaten harm or illegal activity “in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the threat” may qualify as harassment, according to a Texas Penal Code.
Harassment is often classified as a Class B misdemeanor which carries a maximum prison term of 180 days and a maximum fine of $2,000.
Pranking a 911 operator and purposefully keeping quiet or making offensive or harassing remarks is also a criminal offense.
