Colorado

Teen Sentenced in Newport Beach Movie Theater Prank

During a screening of a psychological thriller, a prankster entered through an emergency exit and revved the engine of a leaf blower

A teenager who had a role in a leaf blower prank that sent moviegoers into a panic at a Newport Beach theater last summer was sentenced Tuesday to 100 hours of community service and three years of probation.

Colin Hunter Davis, 19, pleaded guilty to participating in an unlawful assembly, disturbing the peace and trespassing with the intent to interfere with business — all misdemeanors.

Police also questioned a 16-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy in connection with the Aug. 8 prank at the Edwards Big Newport 6 theater, but it was not immediately known if the teens were named in a juvenile petition.

During a screening of "The Gift," a psychological thriller, one of them entered the theater through an emergency door, holding a leaf-blower over his head, police said in a news release. He yelled, shook the leaf-blower, revved its engine to "create a loud and disturbing noise," and left through an emergency exit.

The audience panicked and scrambled for the exits, causing three people to sustain minor injuries. One theatergoer suffered a broken toe, according to prosecutors.

The prank came after a massacre that claimed 12 lives and wounded 70 during a midnight screening of a Batman movie in Colorado in 2012.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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