CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A surveillance camera captured the moments when a teenager played ding dong ditch in a Lee County neighborhood.
"You don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night thinking it's an emergency or something is wrong," Phil Murphey said. "You think something is up and you come out to an empty door," he added.
The teen in the video might not find it funny when he finds out ding dong ditch is illegal.
"It can be considered a break of the peace," Corporal Phil Mullen from Cape Coral Police said. "It's basically disorderly conduct," he added.
Mullen said it is a misdemeanor in the second degree. A police officer would have to witness the person doing it in order to make the arrest.
However, Mullen said a silly prank could cause headaches down the road. "A lot of jobs or colleges ask if you have any contact with law enforcement and what the nature of it was," Mullen said. "These little games are not games at all and could hurt you in the long run," he added.
Neighbors hope the teen learns his lesson. They want the childish pranks to end.
"It is time to grow up and leave those ways behind," Murphey said.
