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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, December 29, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 16, 2004 Murder prank goes awry; pair arrested By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — A pair of pranksters who staged a murder scene inside their home Wednesday landed in jail after a friend who police say was high on methamphetamine phoned authorities, believing one of his pals had killed the other. Officers rushed to a home in the 500 block of Palo Verde Way at about 9 a.m., after Daniel Adam Maerz called 9-1-1 to report an apparent shooting there, Central Point police Sgt. Jeff Britton said. En route to the scene, police notified officials at nearby Mae Richardson Elementary School of a problem in the area. "Not knowing what we had, we ordered the school to lock down," Britton said. "We assumed we had an armed suspect." Police surrounded the house and tried to communicate with the murder suspect, whom Maerz said was still inside. He told police that he ran to a neighboring home to call 9-1-1 after walking into his friends’ house and finding one of them, Adam Dwain Vickers, 31, dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Advertisement Maerz said he believed Vickers’ roommate, Kyle Albert Wisdom, 20, had killed Vickers. After realizing officers had arrived at their house, Wisdom and Vickers walked outside. Neither was injured, although both had been drinking earlier in the morning, Britton said. "They immediately said it was a joke, that they were just goofing around," he said. "They wanted to scare (Maerz) into thinking something happened. It obviously scared him. He was a mess." Britton said Wisdom and Vickers had consumed "quite a bit" of alcohol before staging the murder scene, which included fake blood splattered on Vickers. But it was no joke to police, who handcuffed both men and took them to the Jackson County Jail on charges of disorderly conduct, conspiracy to commit a crime, initiating a false report and reckless endangering. Both were being held late Wednesday on $12,000 bail. "They weren’t thinking the joke was too funny when they were leaving," Britton said. Maerz’s panicked reaction to seeing his friend laying in a pool of fake blood may have had something to do with the fact that he had ingested methamphetamine about one hour before going to the Palo Verde Way home, Britton said. "(Maerz) was really high," Britton said. Maerz, 20, of the 2100 block of Taylor Road in Central Point, was taken to jail for possession of meth and a warrant. He was being held late Wednesday on $10,000 bail. Britton said Maerz was angry both at being arrested and because his friends had fooled him. "He was upset — mad at them," Britton said. "But he was relieved to find his friend was not deceased." After the ruse was revealed, police quickly called Mae Richardson officials to let them know about the hoax. Principal Susan Dippel said the school was locked down for about 10 minutes. During the lockdown, teachers secured their classroom doors and made sure all the children were off the school playground. Dippel said a footbridge separates the school from the neighborhood in which the prank occurred. "I made sure we were very calm and deliberate with what we did," she said. "I wish this sort of thing did not happen ... but it’s comforting to know the system we put in place worked." Dippel sent a note home with each student to inform parents of the situation. She said the school received at least 10 phone calls during the day from concerned parents who had heard about the incident. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Citibank Student Loans Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems