What will charges be for bottle bombs?

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Police have now questioned five teens about those dangerous bottle bombs discovered in the town of Tonawanda. If they're charged, how should the criminal justice system treat them?

Town of Tonawanda Police are planning to consult with the Erie County District Attorney's office about that. If the the individuals are under 16, the case could go to Family Court. Otherwise, they could be charged and prosecuted in Superior Court. Right now, there are a lot of factors for police and the DA to consider.

Town of Tonawanda Police say they've questioned five individuals in connection with the creation and discharge of "bottle bombs" found on town and school district property.

Lt. Nicholas Bado of the Town of Tonawanda Police explained, "Once they caught on to one person, that lead to more and more and more. They ended up tracking all the guys down that they felt were important."

As seen in these YouTube videos, the reaction from using household cleaning chemicals and other components blows the plastic bottle into pieces. Police plan to meet with members of the District Attorney's office on Monday to determine whether charges will be filed.

"First impressions from everybody is that, again, kind of like we said yesterday, this wasn't with malicious intent. These were probably groups of people that were just having fun, goofing around," said Lt. Bado.

Former DA and News 4 legal analyst Frank Clark tells News 4 that a lot will depend on the ages of those responsible, and what their intentions were.

"If capable of causing injury or serious physical injury within a radius of 20 feet of the item, like a hand grenade, they will be charged with felonies. If it's something less than that, and it's not capable of doing anything more than making a loud noise and scaring people, in all likelihood there will be multiple charges of misdemeanors," opined Clark.

News 4 did speak to current District Attorney Frank Sedita by phone. He says he needs to determine if these homemade devices fit the law's definition of explosive.

He also tells News 4 that he must consider whether this was a case of, in his words, "stupid kids pulling a prank," or if they intentionally meant to harm someone or damage property.