Toy rifles cause alarm, arrests in Lafourche Parish

[sunny]

from wwltv.com

Toy rifles cause alarm, arrests in Lafourche Parish

Look-a-likes could easily be mistaken for real says sheriff

02:46 PM CST on Wednesday, December 15, 2004

WWLTV.com

A couple of realistic-looking M-16 replica rifles have gotten two Lafourche Parish teens arrested and caused the sheriff’s department to issue a warning concerning the look-a-like weapons.

According to Larry Weidel, a spokesman for the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, three teens were driving along Highway 308 with the fake weapons that they used to fire at a dog. Weidel said the pseudo-weapons fired plastic projectiles.

Alarmed witnesses, thinking the weapons were real, shouted to the suspects to stop and then took down a license plate number. Eventually, the witnesses flagged down a patrol car and reported the incident.

Deputies found the truck in question and ordered the suspects out over a loudspeaker before discovering the realistic-looking weapons.

Seventeen-year-old Devin Guidry of Galliano and a 15-year-old male teen will face charges of criminal mischief and cruelty to animals, according to Weidel.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said the “weapons” in question were full-scale replicas of the real rifles, complete with laser sight and ultra violet night lights. He said that although the manufacturer puts orange paint on the tips of the barrels to identify them as toys, the paint had been removed in this case.

Webre said the parents of the suspects were told that since the weapons appeared to be real, deputies could have taken action to defend themselves against an apparent deadly threat.

[alicia-w]

they're lucky they werent in Phoenix. they'd be full of lead right now.

[streetsoldier]

Actually, the muzzles of those things are orange plastic; the boys could have overpainted them. They fire 6mm plastic balls or paint balls, and the M-16 model shoots one round per trigger squeeze; there is an FN "bullpup" avalable that shoots the balls full-auto.

And these toys ain't cheap...$70-150, acccording to one of my catalogs.

[sunny]

They said on the news this morning that they had removed the orange paint.