Posted on 04/12/2008 11:50:59 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
BARTOW, Fla. -- One of eight teens accused of taking part in the notorious videotaped "animalistic" beating of another Central Florida teen snickered while a judge issued bail on Friday.
April Cooper, 14, giggled and attempted to hold in her laughter as she was told that she was being held on $36,000 bond, Local 6 News reported. It's not known why Cooper giggled.
A judge set bails ranging from $30,000 to $37,000 for each during their first court appearances.
They also were ordered to stay away from their high school and Internet social networking sites, such as MySpace. The judge also ordered them not to have any contact with the victim or each other.
The accused range in age from 14 to 18. The state attorney's office said all will be tried as adults on charges that include kidnapping.
The judge has ordered everyone involved in the case not to talk to the media. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called the incident "animalistic" attack when he released the video on Monday.
The videotape of the beating has been viewed widely on national TV and the Internet this week.
Families Seek Protection
Families of the teens accused in the beating have received death threats from across the country after their addresses and phone numbers were posted on the Internet, inside a YouTube video.
The new YouTube video calls out for the public to take action, saying, "let your voices be heard."
The video then posts the girls' names, their phone numbers, addresses and other information.
Local 6 reported that some of the families have spoken with deputies about the possibility of getting protection for their safety.
The six girls are accused of luring Victoria Lindsay to a home so they could videotape her beating over some apparent online "trash talk."
Stephen Schumaker and Zachary Ashley are accused of acting as lookouts during the attack.
Schumaker, the only one of the eight arrested to be released from jail, told Local 6 that his family is receiving death threats from all over the United States.
"I don't see why I'm even in this whole situation," Schumaker said in an interview for Local 6.
The videotaped beating was seen by more than 500,000 people as of Thursday night and prompted e-mails to Local6.com from all over the country.
It was the most-viewed video on YouTube at one point Thursday, Local 6 reported.
Wrong Information Posted Online
Meanwhile, an innocent family was targeted by angry callers after their information was mistakenly posted online.
The couple said they got around 300 angr
y, abusive calls from all over the country Wednesday.
Not evil, just extra-stupid I think. They most likely learned this behavior from movies in my opinion.
Unfortunately for them, Florida doesn’t have any sense of humor, muchless their sense of humor. They are going to throw the book at them.
For acting out a fantasy, their lifes are ruined.
“I don’t see why I’m even in this whole situation,” Schumaker said in an interview for Local 6.
And this, in a nutshell, is the problem.....
Quite rightly so.
L
r u kidding?
It wasn 't kind compassion that beat the girl up.
Let's see how giggly she is when she's in the joint.
Sorry, I’m voting for evil. They obviously grew up in very amoral, peer-dominated environments. A lot of middle class parents - and these appear to be middle class kids - feel absolutely unable to set down any moral or ethical guidelines for their kids. Of course, this may be because they have none themselves. But in general, many of them turn their child rearing over to the “pack,” and these kids live in a sort of Lord of the Flies world.
Believe me. As one who has been involved with a woman who had a teenage daughter, I do not find this statement surprising. Disappointing, Hell yes.
As I see it, kids today are filled with infinite needs and zero responsibilities. There are no consequences and their brain-dead Parents, supporting anything their child wants (As opposed to needs) are to blame. Unfortunately the Parents are the product of the Dr. Spock method of childrearing themselves.
This dumb A$$ kid is the product of a very longterm and complex evolution IMO.
these will all grow up to be good b. HUSSEIN supporters....
they were just declaring jihad on the infidel victim.....allah fubar!!!
He is extraordinarily stupid.
One would think after being in juvenile detention for several days now would have made her see the seriousness of her involvement in this. I wonder if she’s one of the ones who “can’t be helped”?
I fear for my generation as the present youth will be our caretakers when we are old and infirm.
Sense of humor ?
Acting out a fantasy ?
Wow, I mean just wow. I am sure Ted Bundy and Charles Manson were just acting out a fantasy of theirs as well so I mean maybe they should have gotten probation because we just did not understand their fantasy.
Where does a sense of humor come in to play, the planning of the trap or the execution of the plan ?
Stupid is using a fork to pry a stuck plug from a wall socket Evil is planning a violent ambush.
Actually, I think they learned a lot of it from their parents. I saw a video where several of the parents made comments.
There was one grandmother that was very upset, but quite a few of the parents thought their lovely children were being abused by the system. One angry father was in a tirade about the sheriff making a big deal about a “fight that was never more than a one on one”.
One woman made a comment the girl brought it on herself by making comments on the internet.
The quality of parents I saw make me not surprised at all the kids are animals, without the ability to think beyond their own selfish desires.
It sounds like a bunch of lowlife kids and families that found each other.
On the noon news here in Orlando, they said Dr. Phil bailed one of the girls out and will pay for her attorney.
If I did that, my "OLD MAN", I think he meant me, would have killed me, if I had heard the first kid, he was probably right. I have always drawn the line.
Ted Bundy and Charles Manson weren’t 14 year old girls.
I vote Evil too...
These attacks/violence of girls on girls is on the increase of late
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