It was like a real-life Project X.
That movie where a group of teenagers throw an out-of-control house party that causes thousands of dollars of damage.
Only for these 16 Los Angeles area high schoolers, it wasn't a house, it was a mansion. And it wasn't thousands of dollars of damage, it was more like a million dollars of damage.
And they might have gotten away with it to, if it wasn't for posting pictures of the event all over social media.
Local police arrested 16 teens in connection to a mansion party, where guests walked off with some new, not-so-free swag which included "medieval armor, scuba gear, [designer] suits and — the piece de resistance — a mounted snow leopard worth $250,000." (Via Los Angeles Times)
More than 100 people, including a DJ, were believed to have attended the party, which caused more than $1 million in damage.
The owner of the 9,000-square-foot mansion was reportedly out of town on business when the teens broke in and threw the impromptu party. (Via KNBC)
Police described the post-party scene at the mansion as unlike anything they've ever encountered before.
"There's like an underground grotto, which had like a 16-foot window looking into the pool. Somebody actually broke that window and shattered it, and we're amazed that no kid got killed." (Via KABC)
Detectives say the evidence that led to arrests in the case was found online through social media.
The suspects apparently posted pictures of themselves frolicking through waterfalls and fountains on the property. Some also tried to sell the items they stole online.
When detectives asked that one teen suspected of snagging the leopard why he took it, he told them simply because "all the good stuff was gone."
