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It's Bull Or Bust When You Mess With The Wrong Mascot

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

One of the teens said the group planned to make the bronze bull reappear on the 50-yard line at the Brandon High School football field before a game.

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By TOM BRENNAN and GEORGE H. NEWMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 2, 2008

Updated: 08/02/2008 01:11 am

TAMPA - It was an irresistible 400-pound temptation.

"We had the idea of taking the bull at Bloomingdale for a long time. Everyone talked about doing it for years," said Frank "Tuna" Carotenuto, 16.

None of the five teens plotting the prank thought it would end in felony charges, Carotenuto said.

"When the story first hit the paper, that's when we knew we might get in trouble," he said Friday.

But Carotenuto, of Plant City; Cristopher Ryan Barnes, 17, of Valrico; Anthony Thomas Browder, 17, of Brandon; Alissa Taylor Sudul, 16, of Brandon; and Joshua Venable, 17, of Valrico, were charged with grand theft after turning themselves in Thursday at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office substation in Bloomingdale, sheriff's officials said.

The teens were charged with stealing the bull statue from Bloomingdale High School this week.

Carotenuto said the group planned to make the bronze bull reappear on the 50-yard line at the Brandon High School football field the night before the traditional rivalry match against the Bloomingdale High Bulls on Oct. 31.

The teenagers said the heist was inspired by an MTV show about high-school pranks and tricks, sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said.

The bull, valued at $14,000 to $17,000, was taken from the school's student patio between 10 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday. It was recovered Thursday in a barn at 1922 N. 59th St., Callaway said.

Carotenuto, who will be a senior this year at Plant City High School, said the group relied on their muscles to lift the statue into a pickup. He said some security lapses made it easier.

"The school's back gate was open, or we could never have been able to do it," he said. "We drove the pickup as close as we could."

Carotenuto said he and his friends never knew how much the bull was worth. Once they learned, they told an adult, who recommended they come clean.

"We had no intention of doing anything but putting the bull on the football field," he said. "There was no damage done to the bull."

His cohorts attend Plant City, Brandon and Durant high schools, Carotenuto said. He would not specify who attends which school.

The severity of the charges generated heated debate on TBO.com. Many said law enforcement shouldn't punish the pranksters too harshly.

"They did the right thing turning themselves in, and the authorities should let it go," Gordon Keen of Winter Haven said in a telephone interview after posting his views. "I understand they have to reprimand them, but they shouldn't give them a criminal record. Nothing malicious was done."

Keen said when he was their age, he served as lookout as a friend climbed the town water tower and painted a beer slogan on its side.

Callaway said the sheriff's office couldn't take the Bloomingdale prank lightly.

"A very valuable piece of property was taken and then was concealed," he said. "We couldn't turn away from the fact it was a crime."

Carotenuto said he and the other teens were told they could qualify for a diversion program and get the arrests erased from their records.

"We would have to do a lot of community service, but that's OK with me," he said. "I want to go to college. I sure don't want this to hurt my chances."

Chief Assistant State Attorney Karen Stanley said she can't comment on pending cases.

"We look at every case individually and look at the specific facts, the applicable law and determine if a crime has been committed and whether we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt," she said.

Carotenuto said in hindsight, he wishes he had never become involved in statue rustling.

"It was a prank like you see done all the time," he said. "It sure wasn't worth going through all the trouble we are getting into."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin contributed to this report. Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at tbrennan@tampatrib.com or (813) 657-4528. Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at gnewman@tampatrib.com or (813) 865-4451.

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