A Missouri man is facing six felonies after he chased down a group of kids that rang his doorbell in a prank.
The incident started when a group of juveniles were out playing “ding dong ditch,” a game in which kids ring a doorbell and then run off before the occupant comes to the door.
All in all, it’s a pretty harmless prank — that is until they did it to 40-year-old Melvin Rankin’s house.
After ringing the bell once, the kids saw Rankin in a nearby window inside the home. The kids rang the bell again, then fled the scene. But Rankin wasn’t going to allow that, according to authorities. The kids claim that a gunshot came from the garage, sending the kids running to their car an effort to leave. Rankin followed them in his car, chasing them to a neighborhood dead end.
At this point, authorities say Rankin got out of his car and held the kids at gunpoint as they lay on the ground. Rankin then took their car keys, leaving them stranded.
The next day, authorities performed a traffic stop on Rankin and found him in possession of two handguns and a controlled substance. A search of his home turned up a shotgun, as well.
This is not the first time that Rankin has been in trouble with the law: Before this incident, he was under permanent GPS monitoring due to a first degree statutory rape conviction.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
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