Copycat Crimes from Wando

We have come a long way from "Win one for the Gipper." But at least Notre Dame and NC State haven't lost their minds yet. The same cannot be said for recruiters at Alabama and Ohio State!

Now the question remains, will these Wando football players meet the same fate as their counterparts from "an academically acclaimed school that draws its students from upscale neighborhoods" in Maryland?

Let's see--the equivalent would be that they be allowed to finish out this year at home & then next year they could go to Burke wearing "ankle bracelets," where students who been expelled from other schools have been enrolling on a regular basis, and Burke's football team could be revived like that of Wheaton High School. Check out this article & then compare it to the Newsless Courier's below!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR2006090701712_pf.html

NOTE: Red for emphasis.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2006 7:27 AM
Hatching robbery game planPolice say Wando High students huddled at house to plot their strategy
BY GLENN SMITH
The Post and Courier
MOUNT PLEASANT - On the night of Aug. 26, a group of Wando High School football players assembled at one student's house to map out strategy.
But it wasn't an upcoming game that was on their minds. Rather, the group hatched plans to rob a Food Lion supermarket at gunpoint and then divvy up the profits, police said.
Investigators say the plot came to light Tuesday as police began to round up members of the group in connection with the Food Lion holdup, a subsequent car theft and a Labor Day robbery at a Subway restaurant. Detectives have arrested 10 students and a Wando graduate, seized evidence from the crimes and recovered some of the stolen cash.
But investigators have yet to answer what is perhaps the central question in the episode: Why would a bunch of suburban teens from predominantly middle-class families participate in crimes that threaten to derail their futures?
"They have not told us why," Mount Pleasant Police Lt. Amy McCarthy said. "We don't have a reason at this point."
Talk of the arrests swirled around Wando on Thursday, the eve of the football team's game with regional rival Summerville High School. Seven members of the Wando Warriors, including their star quarterback, were among those arrested. All are now banned from participating in school sports and activities.
Some students suggested that the initial robbery was planned to aid a friend who had been booted from his house for hosting a party. But police said that doesn't make sense, as those involved reportedly split the meager proceeds of the heist. Others suggested the crimes were just a way for thrill-seeking kids to get their kicks.
If so, it wouldn't be the first time. In 2000, police arrested eight Wando students and graduates in connection with a vandalism spree at the school and a string of burglaries at local businesses.
Von Bakanik, a sociology professor at the College of Charleston, said the recent holdups appear to be a "coming-of-age phenomenon gone terribly awry."
Bakanik said teens often engage in risky behavior for thrills and to assert their independence. Girls tend to rebel sexually or romantically, while boys often act out through property damage and theft, she said.
"Boys who come from middle- and upper-class homes don't need to steal for monetary reasons," she said. "They are stealing for other motivations, mostly to feel powerful or to feel the excitement of doing something illicit."
Fred Medway, a psychology professor at the University of South Carolina, said there is an element of peer pressure as well. Teens involved in a team or group are often more likely to follow the lead of friends headed down the wrong path, he said.
"They are either trying to impress the other kids and show some bravado, or a couple of them are already doing something and it lowers the inhibitions of others," he said. "On a team, it may be a way to get additional respect, especially if you are not as competent or not a star player."
Three of those charged were starters for the Warriors, including Michael Dawley, 16, the team's quarterback and a grandson of the late Chuck Dawley, a former Mount Pleasant police chief and former Charleston County sheriff.
Dawley is accused of participating in the Food Lion robbery with students Patrick Brown, 17; Sean Shevlino, 16; Michael Anthony, 17; Jackie Washington, 18; Christopher Cousins, 16; Samuel Perez, 16; Graham Stolte, 16; Vincent Weiner, 17; and Max Hartwell, 16. Brown, Washington, Weiner, Stolte, Hartwell and Perez also play for the Warriors.
Several of the students provided police with written statements implicating themselves and others in the crimes. Police said the group held a planning session at Hartwell's house before robbing the store with a pellet gun.
Shevlino confronted employees and grabbed the loot while the rest of the teens served as lookouts, according to arrest affidavits. They had inside information about the store, as Cousins worked there, police said.
Shevlino and Anthony also are charged with robbing a Subway restaurant at gunpoint on Monday and stealing a $35,000 BMW on Sunday with the help of Wando graduate Sean Deaton, 17, police said.
The exact amount of money taken in each robbery remained unclear Thursday night.
Anthony, Deaton and Weiner were still being held at the Charleston County jail late Thursday; Brown and Washington were released on bail during the day, according to jail officials. The others had been released from the county's juvenile detention facility, according to an official there.
Charleston County School District officials are still evaluating the case and have not decided whether to suspend any of the students from school, district spokesman Jerry Adams said.
Christine Weiner of Awendaw, mother of Vincent Weiner, called the charge against her son "emotionally devastating." She said the facts of the case are being twisted and she thinks the boys "are getting raked over the coals."
"I think that the football team shouldn't turn their back on them," she said. "Everybody makes mistakes in their lives. Let's try not to ruin their lives over this horrible event."
Several friends left messages of support for the suspects on their pages at MySpace.com. Several in the group maintain a presence on the popular Web site, sharing thoughts with friends on football, partying, girls and other typical teenage pursuits.
Fellow students said the suspects are just that - typical teens.
"They can be rowdy, and they do like to party, and sometimes their fun gets out of hand," student Bri Greer said. "But all in all, they're really cool people."
Junior Lindsey Dworschak, 16, said she doesn't condone such crimes, but the suspects remain friends and "I won't bash them." She chalked up the episode to peer pressure and a football mentality that pushes players to be "big and bad."
"A lot of them are football players and you have to fit in this crowd or whatever," she said.
Senior Justin Buckley, 17, said he doubts anyone involved put much thought into the gravity of what they were doing.
"It probably started out something like - it would be funny if we actually did it," he said.
Staff writers Lucia Walinchus and Prentiss Findlay also contributed to this report. Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.
This article was printed via the web on 9/9/2006 9:44:48 AM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Friday, September 08, 2006.