# Haha very funny motherfuckers (hiking trail boobytrapped) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 24, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784 "2012-04-24T06:15:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/81 "2012-04-26T19:27:01Z")
Given the actual nature of the traps, it seems reasonably unlikely that someone would have been killed by them (hence the likely difficulty in charging them with anything too serious). The use of the term ‘boulder’ is disingenuous in the report, in my opinion: the small rock pictured isn’t what the common concept of a ‘boulder’ would be called - that word is clearly used in order to specifically make people think of something far worse than it really is. I’m not sure it even meets the technical definition of a boulder according to some of the dictionaries I looked up (a rock larger than 25 centimeters in diameter - roughly the size of a men’s basketball) it certainly isn’t what people think of when they hear ‘boulder’ (which is pretty much a rock several feet in diameter). The spikes sticking out of the ground were a more dangerous trap, and given the fishing line intended to trip someone into them, possibly hazardous even if you are aware of their presence. Not that they couldn’t cause a pretty reasonable amount of damage, but it certainly explains the difficulty in charging them with ‘attempted murder’. Were I to be on a jury where that charge is thrown at them, I would find myself unconvinced. If there’s a charge that covers an attempt to cause serious injury, I can see that sticking, but would find myself hard pressed to believe attempted murder. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/82 "2012-04-26T19:27:47Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > Provo and the Quarrymen. Band n…ohhh, wait, nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/83 "2012-04-26T20:34:23Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > So now we know specifically what kind of wildlife the traps were intended for – wild boars and bunnies. These guys need to be locked up if not for the safety of society then as a danger to themselves. Loopier than a noodle shop. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/84 "2012-04-26T20:48:34Z")
I suspect Ewoks. These guys were set up. > [@mhendo](#): > > The natural environment is also a big tourist earner for the state, and no-one, from the governor on down, wants potential visitors driven away by the threat of being decapitated by a spiked rock. Well that would set them apart from other tourist traps. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/85 "2012-06-11T03:15:32Z")
I know this thread’s been dormant for a while now, but i thought that folks might be interested in [this](http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54141603-78/traps-court-felony-provo.html.csp): > [@](#): > > A pair of Utah County men who police say booby-trapped a crudely constructed fort along a popular hiking trail last month have been charged with felony aggravated assault. > > Benjamin Steven Rutkowski, 19, of Orem, and Kai Matthew Christensen, 21, of Provo, were each charged this week in 4th District Court with the third-degree felony count. > > \ > > A third-degree felony carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Their court date is this Wednesday, June 13. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/86 "2012-06-11T04:54:13Z")
Thanks for the update, **mhendo**. If they are convicted, I’d be really surprised if the judge didn’t throw the book at them. We’ll see tho. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/87 "2012-06-11T05:43:07Z")
Would that be the Book of Mormon? Because that one really hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/88 "2012-06-11T05:48:58Z")
Aggravated Assault seems like the appropriate charge. In Utah, Assault is defined as _“an act, committed with unlawful force or violence, that causes bodily injury to another or creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another”_ and it’s Aggravated if the person uses a dangerous weapon or _“other means or force likely to produce death or serious bodily injury”_. That said, they could have been charged with the lesser crime of Reckless Endangerment: _“A person commits reckless endangerment if, under circumstances not amounting to a felony offense, the person recklessly engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person.”_ ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/89 "2012-06-11T15:10:19Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Thanks for the update, **mhendo**. If they are convicted, I’d be really surprised if the judge didn’t throw the book at them. We’ll see tho. > [@silenus](#): > > Would that be the Book of Mormon? Because that one really hurts. Maybe the judge could rig it up into some kind of booby trap near the entrance of their jail cell. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/90 "2012-06-11T17:55:58Z")
I don’t see why they should be held liable if someone else hurts himself. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/91 "2012-06-11T18:21:24Z")
Since they claimed the traps were for animals, couldn’t they also be charged with poaching if they didn’t have a valid trapping permit? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/92 "2012-06-11T18:38:05Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Since they claimed the traps were for animals, couldn’t they also be charged with poaching if they didn’t have a valid trapping permit? Only if the jury buys the “We were totally trying to get animals, man” defense. I suspect that the jury will decide that the morons are lying about that. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/93 "2012-06-11T19:43:41Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Only if the jury buys the “We were totally trying to get animals, man” defense. I suspect that the jury will decide that the morons are lying about that. Why are they mutually exclusive? From my short glance at the quoted statute, it seems that even if they were truly hunting critters, their chosen method could violate both. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784/94 "2012-06-11T21:45:26Z")
If they were truly hunting critters, I think they could be in violation of the “reckless endangerment” clause in addition to attempted violation of hunting and game laws, if the law actually recognizes failed attempts to poach or hunt. But I think that the prosecution will have no trouble convincing a jury that these traps are not involved in hunting animals in any way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haha-very-funny-motherfuckers-hiking-trail-boobytrapped/619784.md?page=4)