Freshman to face 5-year charge for explosive
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Wasielewski
It started as a plan dreamed up Nov. 1 by two freshmen to smash pumpkins in a friend’s yard as a Halloween prank.
But the prank, which developed into the idea of igniting a firework in that friend’s yard, led to four arrests and charges that carried a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
One of the students involved, political science and pre-law freshman Nikolai Wasielewski, now faces a maximum of five years in prison for amended charges of conspiracy and accomplice after the fact, Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Diane Smith said. A hearing was held Wednesday in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court to determine if Wasielewski, a Rossford, Ohio, resident, should face trial for the amended charges.
“We were just bored Sunday night after Halloween, sitting in our dorm room,” economics freshman Darby Dudley testified during the hearing. “We wanted to do something fun. It started with pumpkins and then it was, ‘alright, let’s get some fireworks.’”
Dudley and premedical freshman Olivia Hudson, who both were charged in connection with the incident, texted and called friends to join in on the prank. Wasielewski and communicative sciences and disorders freshman Sasha Savage, who also was charged, agreed to come along.
Dudley said during the hearing she selected three fireworks left from the Fourth of July from her house. She said she threw a golfball-sized mortar — called “very dangerous” by Michigan State Police bomb technician Scott Hasse — out of the window of her mother’s white Cadillac and into friend Eric Flatley’s Grove Street yard.
Hudson drove and Savage and Wasielewski watched from the backseat, Dudley said. She said she did not know what the firework would do.
Dudley, Hudson and Savage said in court they plan to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges and will face probation and community service and no jail time.
Wasielewski’s attorney, Mike Nichols, argued Wasielewski was “just along for the ride.” Hudson and Dudley would have done the prank regardless of whether Wasielewski came along, Nichols said.
Hudson testified she could not remember the specifics of the conversation in which she invited Wasielewski, a friend she met in the dorms, to join in the prank. He was not involved in the planning, she said.
“I mentioned fireworks, pumpkins, pull a prank on our friend, Eric,” she said. “He said, ‘yeah, I’m in.’”
Dudley said everyone in the car knew the plan was to light off a firework and no one protested. There was a “group consensus” to throw the smaller firework, she said.
Dudley said she covered the car’s license plate, which reads “I LOV MSU,” with napkins because Flatley might recognize it. As they drove away after the explosion, Wasielewski remembered the plate was covered and got out of the car to remove the napkins, Dudley said.
Dudley and Hudson said they could not remember what Wasielewski specifically said while the four were in the car. When asked by Nichols, both said “you could say” he was along for the ride.
“The conversation was, ‘this is going to be really funny, I wonder what they’re going to think,” Hudson said.
The explosion, which happened just before midnight Nov. 2, could be heard two blocks away at the police department, East Lansing police Officer Ryan Kuhn said.
Hasse said the firework could have severely injured or killed anyone standing in close proximity of it.
The firework sparked and caused a “really loud” noise that made Grove Street residents pour out of their homes, said nutritional sciences senior Kyle Quinn, who saw the explosion from where he was standing across the street.
Michael Ogilvra, a resident of the property where the firework was tossed, said he didn’t feel harassed by the explosion, which caused no noticeable damage to the yard.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” he said.
After several hours of testimony, the hearing was adjourned to an unspecified date.
Commentary
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MSU
(11/29/09 10:36pm)Report
while i do agree that the authorities are overreacting to this, I also agree that these students are stupid as f$#@
I don’t think he should go to jail-i think a slap on the wrist is fine for this kid. although in my opinion, if you’re fully aware of the plan, and you
‘went along or the ride’, then you have some sort of responsibility. If this was murder, and he went along for the ride, then he’s an accomplice. same idea.
regardless, this should teach these punks a lesson. this could have been dangerous-even innocent fireworks can injure you (ie. firework flying into your eye etc)
F the ELPD
(11/30/09 12:46am)Report
What a waste of taxpayer money. City people are so fucking fragile. It’s a firework. I grew up in the country, and when I was in highschool, we did things that made this look like childs play. Was anyone injured? No. Did anyone deserve to be charged with a felony for the mischief we caused? No. We definitely deserved a stern talking to, but in the end, we were all OK, and most of us are hard working, respectable individuals who look on those times as “the good old days”.
PLEASE explain to me why the ELPD is SO GOOD at wasting taxpayer money. What a bunch of ass clowns.
Responsibility.
(11/30/09 12:49am)Report
It’s a sad day when law enforcement has the right to try and teach kids responsibility by filing felony charges against them. This country is seriously screwed up. Anyone who supports these charges is a close minded moron, there is no reason for this, and the people responsible for filing these charges should be fired and publicly humiliated for this gross abuse of power. This is not what law enforcement is supposed to be doing!
Lyle
(11/30/09 8:43am)Report
The stupidity here is with the police and prosecutor. If a judge and jury can’t apply common sense to the situation, then they should be removed from office. Hopefully this prosecutor will be voted out.
Anon
(11/30/09 9:21am)Report
Stupid is as stupid does.
I hope they get some quality ingham county jail time.
RB
(11/30/09 10:22am)Report
If you commit a crime you pay the penalty; it’s as simple as that. These idiots are lucky the mortar didn’t go off in the car.
Bob
(11/30/09 11:44am)Report
Nice job guys, you’re not pushing 5-year charges on the GIRL who got the fireworks, but rather a random GUY who was there.
Seriously, if he was just along for the ride what grounds are there to charge him? The rest of them are getting off with slaps on the wrist, don’t screw over somebody just to send a message.
Punish them all severely, or none of them.
bob ya dummy.
(11/30/09 12:00pm)Report
the prosecution isn’t targeting him, it’s all about which defendants want to take what plea bargains or whether they want to fight it through entirely.
Aaron
(11/30/09 12:50pm)Report
Bob – the other students are facing 20 years. Not that they will get that either.
Idiotic
(11/30/09 2:26pm)Report
I wonder why the town of East Lansing and the students have so many problems. You’d think that a town that completely reasonably reacts to something as patently horrific and terrifying as a kid riding in a car that threw a single firework would be respected by all students.
Homebrew
(11/30/09 2:47pm)Report
Golfball sized morter???!! What a joke! They oughta arrest the cops for bringing these charges!!!
HAM
(11/30/09 3:10pm)Report
aaron,
The three girls aren’t facing 20 years, they’re pleading no contest (guilty) to a misdemeanor. The guy could get 5 years, State News must be missing some key facts here, because these details in this article do NOT add up to 5 years. He didn’t even pick up the fireworks, if anyone deserves more of a sentence, it would be Dudley for procuring the fireworks and driving the car, not to mention she threw them out the window.
This is asinine.
ridiculous
(11/30/09 7:08pm)Report
Yeah, a golf ball sized mortar could kill someone…. if you shove it in their mouth and light it. Yes, they should all be charged with misdemeanors, fined, and given a 100 hours of community service. Hell, if you are that bent on punishing them and setting an example, throw them in the county jail for a week.
I mean come on, how many people light fireworks on the forth of july? This is ridiculous, even the kid who was targeted doesn’t care.
STOP WASTING TAX MONEY ON STUPID BS!!!! Go open a soup kitchen instead, geeze
person
(11/30/09 7:10pm)Report
How can you say the police are “the worst most corrupt group”, when they are doing the job enforcing the law on a bunch of punks? Why do you love out-of-control spoiled brat (driving Moms Caddy, expensive fireworks from parents house) punks so much?
MSU idiots
(11/30/09 7:29pm)Report
Stupid and MSU go hand in hand… Just shows why MSU academically is in the basement of the Big Ten (and don’t give your obscure rankings like “we have the tallest elm tree in the nation” or “we have more students that study abroad than anyone else” garbage. MSU is a school full of idiots. Happy couch burning.
America
(11/30/09 8:29pm)Report
…but MSU isn’t the one legally dealing with these kids; it’s the ELPD and Ingham County court system.
America
(11/30/09 8:29pm)Report
…but MSU isn’t the one legally dealing with these kids; it’s the ELPD and Ingham County court system.
Thomas Morrisey
(11/30/09 9:12pm)Report
Michigan State is towards the bottom of a highly elite and prestigious group of universities. It’s like landing Olympic bronze.
US News and World Report has MSU tied for 71st in the country alongside Iowa and Indiana, and Purdue and Minnesota are tied for 61st just a tad up the table.
There hasn’t been any couch burning in like six years — but there hasn’t been a football championship at Michigan in 12 and they’re still always blubbering about their program, so I guess I’ll have to allow that dig.
LAWL
(11/30/09 9:17pm)Report
Hahaha, Golf Ball sized mortars? I have dozens of those at home! They aren’t “professional” fireworks, they’re the ones you can buy right on the other side of the Michigan border!!! They make a HELL of a noise, but do no damage! I would be surprised if one could even blow a finger off with one. You’d suffer 2nd degree burns at the most.
F you, Ingham County Prosecutor. F you, East Lansing Police Department. You should all be FIRED for this ignorant waste of taxpayer money. No wonder the state is bankrupt – It’s because of idiots like you!!!
If ANY of these kids see ANY jail time, the prosecutor and all associated law enforcement members should be publicly caned right in front of the capitol building for this financial travesty!!!!
John
(11/30/09 9:38pm)Report
Mr. Morrisey, I would like to thank you for bringing FACTS about MSU to light, so that the IDIOT that preceded America will have an opportunity to read them. Like you, I am assuming that he is one of those arrogant a$$holes from Ann Arbor with his head stuck up his a$$. Perhaps he isn’t aware of UM finest alumni: Jack Kevorkian (Suicide Doctor), Ted Kaczynski, (Unabomber), and Carolyn Warmus (inspiration for Fatal Attraction).
student
(11/30/09 10:23pm)Report
Spoiled Okemos brats all the way thru school….ask anyone. Always bailed out when they got in trouble by mommy and daddy. Getting bailed out again….one is pre-med….WOW. Lets hope she doesn’t become a surgeon.
What do expect from MSU
(11/30/09 10:28pm)Report
Its Michigan State “University” (most would agree its more like a community college) in a broke rust belt town called East Lansing; I really don’t expect anything less from MSU and East Lansing… just a zone of mediocracy.
Re: John
(11/30/09 10:38pm)Report
Lets not forget MSU’s finest either, current faculty member/pedophile Takashi Higuchi… I find it funny you are even trying to compare MSU to Michigan in terms of academics and alumni, what a joke
Re: Re: John
(12/01/09 10:36am)Report
Dumb ass, pedophile implies small children, Higuchi had sexual contact with a post-pubescent girl, that doesn’t qualify as pedophilia. Idiot. He’s a creep who wants to have sex with 18 year old girls, everything indicates he had no idea whatsoever that she was under the age of 18 when he went to meet her. Keep your worthless opinions elsewhere, we are talking about how worthless the ELPD are here. Moron.
Esteban
(12/01/09 1:10pm)Report
It’s not gonna be quality ingham county jail time… 5 years gives you quality try not to drop the soap prison time.