4 questioned in movie theater leaf-blower incident, may face charges
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Four young people who turned themselves in to police for questioning about a prank that caused a rushed evacuation of a Newport Beach movie theater Saturday night have been released to their parents and were not arrested, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Some of the people in the theater that night were upset at the apparent lack of repercussions for the people they believe revved a leaf blower in the theater to replicate the sound of a chainsaw during a tense moment of the psychological thriller "The Gift," says the station. The persons of interest range in age from 15 to 20; three of them are male, and one is female, according to the station.
Three moviegoers said they were injured as they fled the theater in haste during an 11 p.m. screening of the film at the Edwards Big Newport 6 movie theater complex.
But CBS Los Angeles legal analyst Steve Meister said he believes charges could be on the way and that investigators will simply need time to build their case.
The incident played upon movie-going tensions given the recent Lafayette, La. theater shooting that left two people dead and another incident involving a hatchet-wielding man in a movie theater near Nashville, Tenn, as well as the recent trial and life sentence for James Holmes, convicted in the July 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting massacre.
"I could see charges of conspiracy to disturb the peace and conspiracy to incite a riot, which is potentially a felony," Meister said.
Kyndall Aldama, who says she hurt her foot and suffered bruises during the scramble to exit the theater, said she hopes the four people in question are charged with a crime, reports the station.
"I had nightmares that I heard the sound of the chainsaw," she said. "When you go into an enclosed space and say you have a weapon, you're sending people into a panic for their lives."
Police identified the four persons of interest, who turned themselves in Tuesday, using security camera footage, according to CBS Los Angeles. Police said the group also revved a leaf blower earlier that night at an Irvine, Calif. eatery, In-N-Out Burger. The investigation is ongoing.