Prankster warned for serious offense on smart car vandalism

Smart cars are very popular to commuters because of it's superior gas mileage and cute look that weighs about 725 kilograms. What gains attention to their business is the vehicle's unique look, that makes customers shell out a loaded model for up to $20,000. Evidently, that attention also brought the vehicle as the main target for shocking pranks vandals.

Media reports swarmed the internet of photos and videos of people using brute strength and long poles to tip the small smart cars. Windows, exterior mirrors and panelling of the cars were damaged, amused bystanders posed with the flipped car and snapped photos with their cellphone cameras. Outraged owners have vented their anger on blogs. One Alberta owner of a so-called "Smartie" was so furious, that he posted photos on the Internet and offered a reward of $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Ken Lust, sales manager of Smart car at David Morris Fine Cars, who also was a victim of a bad car prank three years ago, says goofing around with it isn't a harmless prank but rather a brazen act of property damage. The sales manager spent several hundred dollars repairing smashed windows and a bent gas cap. No one was ever arrested. Lust believes it was the work of several fellows who probably had too much to drink that night.

Some may think tipping over cars and shattered glass car pranks idea are harmless fun, but under the Criminal Code of Canada, mischief is a potentially serious offense, said Sanjeev Anand, a law professor at the University of Alberta. A conviction carries a variety of potential punishments, including a maximum sentence of between two and 10 years in jail, although such sentences are rare, the law professor said.

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PGA 2002 champ Rich Beem pulls a car prank

Most interesting story on Tuesday at the PGA goes to the prank tale told by Rich Beem, 2002 PGA champion at Hazeltine. After Beem won the championship, Hazeltine made him an honorary member. A year after, Beem and friends at El Paso Country Club played home-and-home matches against several Hazeltine members.

During the match in Texas, Beem played a funny stuff practical jokes on a Hazeltine member he knows only as "Virgil". The one of the few harmless car pranks began after Virgil and a friend parked their car in front of Beem's house. Knowing Virgil left the keys in the car, Beem arranged for a neighbor to take the car and park it down the street in a garage.

When Virgil mentioned he left the keys in the car, Beem let loose. "Are you stupid? Dude, your car's halfway to Mexico right now. I'm sorry, but it's in a chop shop. You've got no car." Virgil looked outside. No car.

"He friggin' lost it," Beem said, laughing. "He thought his car was in the middle of Mexico in a chop shop. He was panicking. I made him sweat for half an hour and I said, 'Dude, it's across the street in my buddy's garage.' It was pretty funny."

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Gig Harbor High School seniors accused of tagging vehicles

Since it was the first day of school without the 2009 class, juniors of Gig Harbor HS rolled into school Thursday with self-administered window paint reading “2010” as their graduating year identification. But by the time they got out of class, “2010” had been crossed out with window paint and replaced by “2009” along with vulgar words and symbols.

Students said they saw members of the senior class pulled off car pranks by tagging cars about 11:30 a.m. Seniors were on campus for a brief period for their graduation practice. Though the paint came off with each swipe of a finger or a shirt some juniors called the tagging immature, others just laughed and talked about going to the car wash.

Gage Young, a GHHS junior, found his SUV tagged with vulgar slang and phallic symbols, but he laughed it off. Young said because of his involvement in a similar prank aimed at graduating seniors his vehicle likely was tagged more aggressively. He said this sort of tagging is an annual event between the juniors and seniors.

Although pranks were being taken lightly by Gig Harbor High students, the school’s administration is having a hard time against end-of-the-year antics. Greg Schellenberg, an Outgoing GHHS Principal, expressed frustration over the incident. The school plans to review security cameras in the parking lot and will not rule out individual punishment.

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