The joke doesn't decide the charge. The repair bill does.

Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, which makes Friday, October 30 the night Detroit used to call Devil's Night. In 1984 the city's fire department put out more than 800 fires around that night, and the response that followed, a youth curfew in 1986, the volunteer Angel's Night patrols starting in 1995, and finally the city retiring the program in 2017 in favor of a community Halloween celebration, is one of the better comeback stories in Metro Detroit. The fires are mostly history. The pranks aren't, and every fall some of them end in a police report. When they do, Michigan doesn't ask whether it was meant as a joke. It asks what the damage costs to fix and how old the person who did it is.

What is a Halloween prank charged as in Michigan?

Usually malicious destruction of property, which Michigan grades by the dollar value of the damage. MCL 750.377a covers personal property, such as a car, a fence, a porch decoration, or a mailbox, and MCL 750.380 covers houses, garages, and other buildings. Both statutes use the same dollar tiers, so a smashed windshield and a spray painted garage door are judged on the same scale: what it costs to fix.

"Malicious" means the damage was intentional and done without justification, so an accident isn't covered by these statutes. But intentional doesn't mean the person meant real harm. Kicking in a pumpkin on the porch is intentional. So is throwing eggs at a house, and that's the part of these cases that catches families off guard.

When does property damage become a felony?

At $1,000. Since the tiers were last amended in 2024, Michigan grades malicious destruction of property like this:

• Less than $200: misdemeanor, up to 93 days in jail and a fine of $500 or three times the damage, whichever is greater.
• $200 to under $1,000: misdemeanor, up to one year and a fine of $2,000 or three times the damage.
• $1,000 to under $20,000: felony, up to five years and a fine of $10,000 or three times the damage.
• $20,000 or more: felony, up to ten years and a fine of $15,000 or three times the damage.

The thresholds are lower than most people expect. Repainting a car door, replacing a storm door, or cleaning paint off brick can pass $1,000 quickly, and a group that hits several houses in one night can find the damage added up, because the statutes let prosecutors aggregate separate incidents that are part of a scheme or course of conduct within 12 months. A prior conviction for the same offense can also bump a charge up a tier, which is how a second misdemeanor prank turns into a felony. Our piece on misdemeanors vs. felonies in Michigan explains what that line means long after the case is over.

What other charges come up on Halloween weekend?

A few, depending on what got hit. Throwing a stone, a brick, or another dangerous object at a vehicle is its own crime under MCL 750.394, with a jail misdemeanor for the throw itself and a felony if someone is hurt. Damaging a school bus in a way that creates a safety hazard is a felony under MCL 750.377c, and destroying police or fire department property is a felony under MCL 750.377b regardless of the dollar amount.

Trespass under MCL 750.552, for staying on property after being told to leave or entering after being told not to, is a 30 day misdemeanor and often rides along with a property charge. Fire is where everything changes. Michigan's arson statutes have four degrees, the most serious carrying up to life, for example when someone is hurt, and burning a dwelling, even an empty one, is up to 20 years. Anything involving fire should be treated as the most serious case in this post, because it is.

Who pays for the damage?

The person convicted pays, and so can their parents. Michigan's Crime Victim's Rights Act requires the court to order full restitution in an adult case, and that duty applies even when the case ends with youthful trainee status or a deferred judgment, so a dismissal on the record doesn't wipe out the bill. For juveniles, restitution is also mandatory, and if the young person can't pay, the court can order the parents to pay what's left after a hearing on their ability to pay.

Separately, MCL 600.2913 lets a property owner sue the parents of a minor who lives with them for willful or malicious damage, up to $2,500. That's a civil case, and it can happen whether or not anyone is charged, so families sometimes face a demand letter before they ever see a courtroom.

How does age change the case?

It decides which court hears it and what options exist. Since Michigan's Raise the Age law took effect on October 1, 2021, anyone under 18 at the time of the offense, including 17 year olds, falls under the family division's juvenile jurisdiction. Under the Juvenile Diversion Act, police or court intake can divert a minor's case instead of filing a petition, and restitution can't be used as a reason to deny diversion. Since 2024, diversion decisions also include a risk screening and a mental health screening.

For young adults from 18 through 25, the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act can end a case without a conviction on the record if probation is completed, though anyone 21 or older needs the prosecutor's consent. We cover how that works in our guide to HYTA. In both systems, the earliest conversations with police and the prosecutor shape what's possible later, which is why a call before anyone sits down for an interview is worth making, and our piece on what to do if police want to question you applies to teenagers too.

Does Detroit still have a Halloween curfew?

Detroit has a year round youth curfew, amended in July 2025, that keeps kids under 16 off the streets from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 16 and 17 year olds from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The 2025 amendment took the penalty off the kids and put it on the parents or guardians, with a $250 fine for a first violation and $500 after that. State law also sets a baseline curfew for younger children everywhere in Michigan.

Most Halloween weekends end with candy and nothing else, and the ones that don't usually start with a group, a dare, and something that cost more to fix than anyone thought. If that's where your family is this weekend, our criminal defense team handles juvenile and adult property cases across Wayne County. The joke never decides the charge, but the first few calls after it can decide a lot about the outcome.

Quick answers

Is egging a house illegal in Michigan?

Yes. Egging is intentional damage, so it can be charged as malicious destruction of property under MCL 750.380 for a building or 750.377a for a car, graded by what the damage costs to repair.

What is the felony amount for malicious destruction of property in Michigan?

Damage of $1,000 or more is a felony, punishable by up to five years. Damage of $20,000 or more is up to ten years. Below $1,000 it's a misdemeanor.

Can parents be held responsible for a child's vandalism in Michigan?

Yes. Under MCL 600.2913, a property owner can sue the parents of a minor living with them for willful or malicious damage up to $2,500, and courts can order parents to pay unpaid juvenile restitution.

Is a 17 year old charged as an adult in Michigan?

Not anymore for most offenses. Since October 1, 2021, 17 year olds fall under juvenile court jurisdiction, with exceptions for certain serious offenses that a prosecutor can bring in adult court.

Related reading

• HYTA: The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act in Michigan
• Misdemeanor vs. Felony in Michigan
• Michigan's Social Host Law and Teen Parties
• Criminal Defense at D.C. Law