Oh, Montana

From CNN.com

Texting teens get the wrong number -- a REALLY wrong number

September 06, 2010|By Gabriel Falcon, CNN

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  Two Montana teens mistakenly texted a local sheriff about buying some marijuana.

Two Montana teenagers texting in search of some marijuana got the wrong number. Seriously wrong. They wound up messaging the local sheriff, and he messaged right back.

"They were one number off," Louis and Clark County, Montana, Sheriff Leo Dutton told CNN. "Luck of the draw."

Dutton said the 15- and 16-year-old boys mistakenly sent him a text message on August 25 that read, "hey dawg, do you have 20 i can buy right now?" At first, Dutton said he "thought it was a joke" but decided to continue the conversation by replying, "how much we talking?"

"I need 20 right now do you have any?" the teens allegedly texted back, unaware that the person they were communicating with was the chief law enforcement officer in the area.

Dutton said he handed the case over to a narcotics officer who arranged to meet the two teens later that day. After the officer showed his badge to the teens, one of the boys "got white and his knees started wobbling," Dutton said.

Although the teens were on record with their pot purchasing attempt, the sheriff says they won't face any charges.

The parents of both of teens "took immediate action" which played a big part in the decision not to charge the two, Dutton said without offering specifics of the parental punishment.

"If your goal is to put someone into the system and not try to correct the behavior, it seems like you are fighting the tide," Dutton told CNN. "The parents were going to do more to change their behavior than a criminal record. Changing behavior and making this a better place is what we're all about."

"We all make mistakes," the sheriff added. "Hopefully they'll use it as a stepping block instead of a stumbling stone, and they'll be better off in life."