A 17-year-old boy from Wisconsin was arrested for playing what he thought was a harmless practical joke on his stepdad. Tyler Rabenhorst-Malone told police that he thought it would be funny to spike his stepdad's energy drinks with cow tranquilizers and claimed that he did not intend to hurt him.
The boy's stepfather had to be taken to the hospital in January 2018 after he started slurring his speech and had trouble breathing. He believed the energy drinks were to blame but did not suspect they had been tainted in any way.
After having another medical episode in April, he started to suspect Tyler was to blame and began monitoring everything he ate and drank. When the symptoms stopped he started to search Tyler's belongings, where found used syringes, which he believed the boy had used to spike his energy drinks.
He handed the syringe over, along with samples from energy drinks to law enforcement where it was tested at the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory. The tests found residue from Xylazine, a drug used to tranquilize cattle during birth, in both the syringe and the drink samples.
When police questioned Tyler, he admitted to his crime and was taken into custody. He was charged with felony placing foreign objects in edibles and recklessly endangering safety.
This isn't the boy's first run-in with authorities. His mother said that he was recently expelled from his high school because he had hacked the school's email system.
Photo: Rock County Sheriff's Office