Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 28, 1993 TAG: 9307280033
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The two boys admitted to a sheriff's investigator that they broke into the school the nights of June 7 and 9 by smashing a window and crawling in.
The first night, they stole about $80 from teachers' desks and wrote crude graffiti on a blackboard and a desktop. They set free a rabbit from a first-grade classroom and took a turtle from the room and put it in a secretary's desk.
Two nights later, they returned with a crowbar and did even more harm, leaving glass and a mess through much of the school. They smashed the trophy case and poured lemon and cherry drink over computers, a cash register, a copier and more than 8,000 books.
The two - who were convicted of burglary, theft and destruction of property - will be sentenced Sept. 14 in Botetourt Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. They could be sent to a state reformatory or be given probation and ordered to do community service and pay for the damages.
Judge Robert Culpepper put them on notice that they should start saving their money: "What you did was absolutely senseless. You're going to be held responsible for every dime of it, regardless of whether or not there was insurance. If there was insurance, you're going to pay the insurance company."
Botetourt sheriff's investigators arrested the two after getting a tip that one of them was involved. He quickly admitted that he had helped trash the school and implicated the other boy, who also confessed.
The boys had never been in trouble with the law before. Detective Sgt. D.A. Dudding said neither gave much of a reason for why they did it, beyond "just for the heck of it."
"One boy said they were bored and didn't have anything to do," Dudding said.
So far, school officials have tallied up $13,494 in damages, but that figure could rise. For example, Troutville Principal Sandra Tunnell said, it is hard to tell right now whether the computers will develop problems later because of the liquid poured on their keyboards.
And what cannot be added up, Tunnell said, is the destruction of things that can never be replaced, such as kids' artwork.
Teachers, staffers and children all felt violated, Tunnell said. One child worried that whoever did it was still somewhere in the building. Many children were worried, Tunnell said, that the vandals would return someday.
by CNB