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Teens Livestream Ice Cream Theft, Get Arrested

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on July 15, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Hey everyone! Watch me break the law!

If two boys commit a crime but no one is watching, did it really happen? Perhaps not, which is why two teenage boys had the bright idea to film and livestream their illegal ice cream stealing escapade.

Unsurprisingly, the video landed them in juvenile court.

The Robin Hood of Ice Cream

Two 16-year-old boys, unidentified because of their age, used Periscope, a smartphone app, to livestream themselves breaking into a semi trailer filled with ice cream.

A viewer of the livestream notified the police and gave them enough information to track the two boys down. Police quickly found the boys and arrested them after they admitted to stealing the ice cream and leaving them on neighbors' porches as gifts

Periscope Solves the Crime

Do you remember how the bad guys in the show Scooby-Do always say, "I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"?

Well, these boys probably would have gotten away with the ice-capade if it weren't for their phone and the Periscope app. Periscope allows users to record and upload videos online simultaneously. The videos are posted on the site's website for 24 hours after a livestream, then deleted from the company's servers. The app also allows users to geo-tag their location to share with followers on Twitter and Periscope.

If only all criminals used Periscope. The police would have a field day.

Juvenile Punishments

As for the two boys, they'll be answering for their crimes in juvenile court.

When minors are involved in crimes, they usually go to juvenile court, unless they committed particularly serious crimes and are charged as adults. In many ways, juvenile court procedures differ from normal criminal courts.

In juvenile court, crimes are actually called delinquent acts, and the punishments are more creative. Rather than simply sentencing minors to jail, juvenile court judges can order fines, restitution, counseling, probation, community service, or a diversion program. Once minors have complied with the judges' orders, their records are almost always sealed and expunged when the minor turns 18.

Hopefully, these two boys learn their lesson and don't livestream any more stupid acts of childhood mischief.

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