Melugin Pleads Guilty to Disturbing the Peace After Dry-Ice Bomb Incident

Mitchell Gary Melugin, the Mission Viejo football player whose graduation week prank landed him in jail, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Superior Court to a count of disturbing the peace.

Melugin, 18, was the driver of a vehicle that had Robert Jacob Browne, 19, of Trabuco Canyon, and two juveniles in it. Authorities had alleged that the men tossed dry-ice bombs at pedestrians in Laguna Hills and inside a vehicle in Mission Viejo.

The victim in the car of the June 23 incident, which occurred about 11:30 p.m., managed to get the license plate number of the SUV Melugin was driving, and he was arrested the following day. Browne was arrested a bit later June 24.

There were no injuries in the incident.

Both Melugin and Browne had also been charged with throwing a substance at a vehicle. Like Melugin, Browne last week pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace—making a loud and unreasonable noise.

Melugin received a suspended sentence. He was freed on $15,000 bail on July 7.

A defensive lineman for his high school team, he received a scholarship to play football for Northern Arizona University, which he is expected to attend in the fall.