Police nab suspects for 'prank'
Youths deny having abduction in mind
By LEON THOMPSON
Messenger Staff Writer
(This article appeared in Friday, January 15, 2010's Edition of The St. Albans Messenger)
ST. ALBANS CITY — They said it was a prank. In retrospect, they thought it was "ill thought out" and "foolish," said Gary Taylor, city police chief. : But police are taking the situation - initially described as an attempted abduction -- seriously, and now two Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans (BFA) students are facing criminal charges for throwing a 13-year-old boy into a snow bank last Friday, Jan. 8.
"Bernie" Boran, 17, of Georgia, has been issued a citation to appear in Franklin District Court on a simple assault charge.
Matt Wainscott, of Fairfield, also 17, could face a charge of accessory to simple assault; his case has been sent to the state's attorney for review.
For almost a week, police have been looking for a black, four-door Audi that was involved in the incident, which occurred on the corner of High and Congress streets, at about 6:30 p.m.
The boy said the car stopped, and that a white male, close to age 20, wearing a white coat, got out, grabbed him from behind, and tried to pull him into the car.
The incident ended when the victim resisted and Boran allegedly threw him into a snow bank. Wainscott was allegedly driving the car.
The boy did not know either Boran or Wainscott. The incident occurred during the dark evening hours.
Wainscott and Boran eventually came forward. They "admitted their respective roles in this incident, but insisted that they thought that throwing the young man in the snow bank was funny and meant as a prank, not an attempted abduction," Taylor said.