Drive-through prank not original

To view first story about the prank, click here.

To view story about the apprehension of the pranksters, click here.

The jokers who broadcasted obscenities through the Sedalia Taco Bell drive-through were no pioneers.

Taco Bell employees filed a police report after the drive-through speaker was hijacked Tuesday afternoon.

Others around the country have pulled off similar pranks, with victims including a Michigan Burger King in 2004. The Internet carries videos of hijacked drive-throughs, including “how-to” pieces to pull off the prank.

Customers in the online videos became angry and some drove away, causing the fast-food establishments to lose business. Rob Poetsch, a corporate spokesman with Taco Bell, said prank that happened here is no laughing matter.

“This may seem like a harmless prank, but it’s both illegal and inappropriate. Our franchisee has been speaking with his customers who have been very supportive and understand that he had nothing to do with this,” Poetsch said. “Our franchisee is continuing to cooperate with authorities in their investigation and is hopeful the pranksters will be caught.”

Poetsch said the incident in Sedalia wasn’t a first.

“It has happened in the past, but it’s not very common these days because the technology has improved so much,” Poetsch said.

Most franchisees have upgraded to digital headsets over the past several years. He said the digital headsets use frequencies that are more resistant to interference.

“Because of the improvements in the technology, we’ve since seen a significant drop in this type of activity.”

Sedalia Police Sgt. Matt Wirt, who is a detective, said pranks like the one Tuesday are “not something that happens a lot,” but it has happened before.