Creepy clown prank results in charges for two men

CENTERVILLE, Mass., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A pair of Massachusetts pranksters were foiled on a would-be victim's porch when an off-duty officer's suspicions were raised by a creepy clown mask.

The Barnstable Police Department said an off-duty officer became suspicious Thursday when he spotted two men, later identified as Nicholas Court, 25, and Jonathan Gebbia, 21, run through his backyard while one was wearing a "freaky clown mask" about 5:50 p.m..

Sgt. Sean Sweeney said the officer saw Court, who was dressed in all black and a bloody clown mask, carry a box onto a the porch of a neighboring home whole while Gebbia concealed himself in some nearby bushes with a camera.

The off-duty officer stopped the men before any residents of the home answered the door and they told him they were filming a prank video for YouTube.

"They explained they were going to put it on YouTube. The woman had never seen the people before. It was a strictly random pick," Sweeney told the Cape Cod Times.

Sweeney said the men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing on land.

He said the suspects told officers they had not considered the possibility that an elderly person could have answered the door and suffered a heart attack.

Sweeney said the men told Sgt. Dave Myette they would not have followed through with the prank if a child had answered the door.

"He said, 'How do you know who's going to answer the door?'" Sweeney said.