Boy Won’t Be Charged for Border Games

Criminal charges will not be filed against a 17-year-old South Bay high school student who allegedly harassed illegal migrants along the border as part of a recreational war game played by teen-agers, the district attorney’s office said.

“We have rejected the case and notified the Police Department that no criminal charges will be filed in connection to the case,” Dist. Atty. spokeswoman Linda Miller said. “We were not able to identify any victims, and, without victims, we can’t prosecute.”

Police had submitted evidence to the district attorney’s office and asked that it be reviewed, she said.

“We recognize that victims are necessary for prosecution,” police spokesman Bill Robinson said. “The fact that there were no victims to testify is a problem we have no control over.”

In April, police reversed a previous finding and said teen-agers playing war games, in groups with names such as Metal Militia and Sudden Death, did encounter and harass undocumented migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border on at least one occasion in December.

The findings came two months after the Fox broadcasting program “The Reporters” aired a segment Feb. 24 depicting teen-agers dressed in war gear and encountering people at the border as part of their recreational war games.

Although police questioned the program’s credibility during a March 9 news conference, some of the youths later approached a teacher and told the teacher about the December incident. The teacher contacted the police, who then interviewed the teens.

Several teens were involved in the incident, according to police, but they believed there was only enough evidence to prosecute one, reportedly from Imperial Beach’s Mar Vista High School.

The 17-year-old teen, part of the group of players who are students from Mar Vista and Southwest high schools, allegedly pointed a BB gun at undocumented migrants, after telling them to put their hands on their heads and kneel on the ground.

Ted Swofford, spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol, said officers have not encountered teen-agers engaged in war games since February.