Central Coast students involved in ‘senior prank gone wrong’ won’t face criminal charges

Tom Bolton
·2 min read
6

What the Santa Barbara Police Department described as a “graduation prank gone wrong” at Santa Barbara High School has not resulted in any criminal charges being filed against the dozens of students who participated.

There were 41 students who were denied the opportunity to participate in the graduation ceremony and related end-of-year activities, including Grad Night, according to Nick Masuda, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

The incident occurred late on the night of May 30, three days before graduation.

The so-called “senior prank” involved gallons of baby oil, Vaseline, raw fish and oysters being placed all over the floors and door handles, according to police. Additionally, toilet paper and streamers were strewn in trees on the exterior of the school property.

On a more serious level, the glass and a lock on a door were broken.

Police estimated that 50 to 60 students were involved, and officers who responded to the scene were able to detain 15 to 20 of them.

Those students — some juveniles and some adults — were referred to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office or the Juvenile Probation Department, depending on their ages, according to police Lt. Joshua Morton.

No one was cited or arrested, he added.

District Attorney Joyce Dudley told Noozhawk that no charges have been filed in connection with the incident.

Masuda said that damages from the incident totaled nearly $1,700, with the most expensive items being replacement of the glass and the lock in a door. The school district also paid $670 to Big Green to help with the cleanup, he added.

“We are not looking to recoup costs on the damages” from the families of the students involved, Masuda said.

Not included in the cost estimates was the time spent by the school’s janitorial staff on the cleanup.

“My understanding is that the hours didn’t go beyond the normal day, but it definitely shifted their attention,” Masuda said.

Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com . Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk , @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz . Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook .