Stranger Danger Roleplay Goes Too Far

A Westlake father enlisted the help of a friend to test the mettle of his sons age 14 and 16. The test, similar to a dramatization on the television show Cops, or Dateline was to see if his kids would adhere to a house rule of not letting anyone into the home other than known relatives.

This is the way the test went down according to Westlake Police Captain Guy Turner - the father's friend knocked on the door, and the younger son let him into the house. Posing as an ex-convict, the friend made threats and claimed that the boy's father owed him money, this terrified this boys who ran upstairs to a bedroom. Barricaded in the second floor bedroom, the boys decided to jump out of the window onto the garage roof and then to the ground landing dangerously close to the sidewalk. Fortunately, the only injury was a minor scrape suffered by the oldest boy.

The friend, who had been in touch with the boy's father via cell phone throughout the whole charade, asked the father to put an end to it. The father refused, disappointed that his boys had failed the test by letting him into the house, wanted to see things through to the end.

Once safely on the ground, the boys went to a neighbor's house where they called 911. The Westlake police responded and once at the home, they learned that the whole charade was a test gone bad.

The responding officers commended the boys on securing themselves from the threat and escaping to safety. The City Prosecutor will consider Child Endangering charges against both adults.