THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300345
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 99 lines
Brian L. Bell, the last of four juveniles to be punished for torching three portable classrooms at Windsor Oaks Elementary School last May, received a suspended 15-year jail sentence on Wednesday, leaving the former Princess Anne High School student with nine adult felony convictions in the case but no time in prison.
It ended a tortuous seven-month process where four judges in two courts struggled to balance justice for four teen-age boys with the demands of a community angered by a series of arsons at Virginia Beach schools.
Before suspending the sentence, Judge A. Bonwill Shockley gave Bell six years for burglary, one year for conspiracy to commit burglary, one year for grand larceny, eight years for arson and one year for conspiracy to commit arson. Shockley ordered that two of the one-year sentences be served concurrently.
Shockley also ordered that Bell, 15, pay $18,750 in restitution for the damage caused by the fires, which occurred on May 12 and May 25. Damage estimates were that the fires destroyed $165,000 in school property.
Shockley said before issuing her ruling that she ``struggled long and hard with this case'' before deciding that Bell should not go to jail for his part in destroying the portable classrooms.
``You did something that is very stupid,'' Shockley told Bell after issuing her ruling. ``Your family has suffered, your community has suffered, your school has suffered, and you are suffering.''
But Shockley said that Bell had shown since his arrest and convictions that he could successfully participate in counseling and other treatment that could help him overcome several psychological conditions - including depression and a learning disability - that may have contributed to his anti-social behavior.
``This is your chance,'' Shockley added. ``You seem to be taking advantage of it; just keep doing what you have been doing for the past six months.''
Shockley also ordered Bell to serve 12 months of supervised probation, during which at least six of those months must be in an outdoor adventure program that teaches self-reliance through skills training. The suspended sentence, which is contingent upon his good behavior for 15 years, also requires him to maintain a part-time job and continue counseling, Shockley said.
Testimony on Wednesday from mental health professionals who have worked with Bell indicated that he suffers from attention deficit disorder and a form of mild depression that could be associated with failure in school. Bell reads poorly and has below-average grades.
That may have contributed to Bell's penchant for setting fires. In addition to the Windsor Oaks fires, Bell was convicted of setting fire to a soft drink machine at the Tivoli Apartments on Holland Road on July 5.
The Windsor Oaks fires were unsolved until fire and police investigators interviewed three of the boys at their homes June 4. Although each initially denied any involvement, they all broke down during interrogations.
The four juveniles arrested were all students at Princess Anne High School.
In addition to Bell, police arrested Robert Laramay, 17, Brodie Brown, 17, and Alan Ferrara, 16.
Their stories about what happened differed, but all agreed that Bell and Brown played the primary roles in setting the fires.
Bell told investigators that on the evening of May 11, he and Brown broke into one of the portable classrooms at Windsor Oaks and stole several musical instruments, including a flute and cymbals.
The two boys also spread papers on the floor before leaving with the stolen items and going to Ferrara's house.
At the house, Bell said, all four of the boys filled a salsa jar with gasoline and went back to the classrooms in Brown's truck in the early morning hours of May 12.
The boys, Bell said, stole a VCR from one of the classrooms and then Brown lit the gasoline-soaked papers on the floor of the classrooms. Two portable buildings burned May 12.
The VCR was stashed in a recreational vehicle at Ferrara's house.
On May 25, Bell said, he returned with Brown to the school and again put papers on the floor and on a message board and soaked them with gasoline before the boys set fire to them. One classroom burned on the 25th.
On Sept. 26, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr. ordered that all four juveniles should be tried as adults. Padrick called the arson at the school a ``crime against the community.''
On appeal, Circuit Judge John K. Moore returned the cases of Laramay, Brown and Ferrara to juvenile court. Shockley refused to return Bell's case to juvenile court.
Laramay, Brown and Ferrara, sentenced by Juvenile Court Judge Woodrow Lewis, were committed to the juvenile court for an indeterminate period of time. They must be released no later than their 21st birthdays, but will likely be released before.
They also were ordered to pay restitution. Brown must also pay $18,750; Laramay and Ferrara were ordered to pay $6,250 each.
Although Bell is the only one of the four who will serve no time in detention, his felony convictions may never be expunged from his record.
The juvenile convictions of the other three will not affect their adult records.
The Windsor Oaks fires came at a time when public awareness of school arsons was at a peak. At least three other schools have been partially burned in Virginia Beach during the past two years.
None of the four juveniles is a suspect in other school arsons in Virginia Beach, including one that caused major damage to Princess Anne High School on Sept. 1, 1995, investigators have said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Brian L. Bell, 15, was ordered to pay $18,750.
KEYWORDS: JUVENILE ARSON VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS SENTENCE