Two Florida mothers turned in their minor sons to face school vandalism charges worth $50,000 after the boys allegedly defaced a local elementary school's media center.
Officials said the two boys, aged 12 and 13, reportedly broke into Friendship Elementary School in Deltona on Saturday during the day. After causing damage at that time, they later returned at night to do even more damage.
Minors Face Vandalism Charges Worth $50,000
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office later posted a video that showed a shattered glass door, overturned tables and shelves, shredded books, and graffiti. In a social media post by the sheriff's office, the minors later confessed to the vandalism, according to ABC News.
Since then, the suspects have been charged with burglary, trespassing, criminal mischief, and theft.
The sheriff's office's social media post noted that video footage of the incident did not allow them to identify the suspects initially. Officials turned to the public to ask for assistance in figuring out who the culprits were, CBS News reported.
There was a separate case where around 10 teenagers were arrested in relation to a series of vandalism incidents at Antelope Middle School in Sacramento. The suspects are facing more than 100 felonies related to vandalism at the institution.
In a statement, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said that between Apr. 19 and July 31 last year, the school suffered about $100,000 in property damage. This was due to several burglaries and acts of vandalism. Officials said they received six crime reports over that period of time.
More Than 100 Felonies
Sgt. Amar Gandhi said that the suspects were launching rockets at cars, blowing doors off hinges, and using explosives and fireworks. He added that even one of their sheriff's vehicles was targeted, where the teens threw a large mortar round underneath it, which caused significant damage.
Authorities investigated the incidents that involved witness interviews and the review of hundreds of hours of video footage. Gandhi added that the detectives from the property crimes bureau spent hundreds of hours rummaging through the video and interviewing witnesses.
Detectives were able to identify 12 juvenile suspects involved in crimes against the victim's school, which resulted in 106 felony charges. These are separated into 56 charges of burglary, 35 charges of conspiracy, 11 charges of vandalism, one charge of reckless possession of a destructive device, and one charge of intention to intimidate with a destructive device, as per KCRA.
