" It can come back to bite you."
It most certainly can. It's no joke when something goes on your kid's permanent record. Even something as stupid and senseless as this.
That is the problem, they are stupid and senseless. The way they are worded makes them look serious though. Then when something that is more serious comes up, you have this string of "prior history" that works against you. No amount of saying "but that is not what happened" will help at that point.