Teens plead not guilty to trashing, burglarizing high school
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EVERETT, Wash. - Two teens pleaded not guilty Thursday to trashing dozens of computers and classrooms at Snohomish High School, causing $100,000 in damage.
The two, a 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy, were brought into juvenile court in shackles for their arraignment on charges of second-degree burglary and first-degree malicious mischief, a felony.
The girl also faces a charge of third-degree assault for allegedly spitting on an officer during her arrest.
Both were released after the hearing - the girl on $1,000 bail and the boy on his own recognizance. Both are under house arrest.
The charges stem from an incident early Monday morning at the high school, when the school's alarm company told dispatchers there were at least two people inside the "B" building on the high school's campus.
Police from Lake Stevens, Monroe and Snohomish surrounded the building and spotted two teens trying to escape, said Snohomish Police Cmdr. Fred Havener.
After the teen were taken into custody, school district officials and officers entered the building to find the contents in disarray. All of the school's 50 computers in the library were knocked over onto the floor.
"They knocked over every one of them. Some were trampled on; some were destroyed," Havener said. "It was a real mess. It was shocking."
Investigators said the teens also broke windows and vandalized some of the classrooms and offices. But they still weren't done.
"They also opened the school's trophy case and destroyed several of the trophies," he said. "It appears to be between $20,000 and $100,000 in (overall) damage."
Snohomish High Vice Principal Gordy Brockman called the destruction "a senseless act" that is especially damaging after other cutbacks at the school, including staff cuts, to make ends meet.
Neither of the teens attended the school. The girl is from Snohomish and the boy is from Lynnwood.
The two, a 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy, were brought into juvenile court in shackles for their arraignment on charges of second-degree burglary and first-degree malicious mischief, a felony.
The girl also faces a charge of third-degree assault for allegedly spitting on an officer during her arrest.
Both were released after the hearing - the girl on $1,000 bail and the boy on his own recognizance. Both are under house arrest.
The charges stem from an incident early Monday morning at the high school, when the school's alarm company told dispatchers there were at least two people inside the "B" building on the high school's campus.
Police from Lake Stevens, Monroe and Snohomish surrounded the building and spotted two teens trying to escape, said Snohomish Police Cmdr. Fred Havener.
After the teen were taken into custody, school district officials and officers entered the building to find the contents in disarray. All of the school's 50 computers in the library were knocked over onto the floor.
"They knocked over every one of them. Some were trampled on; some were destroyed," Havener said. "It was a real mess. It was shocking."
Investigators said the teens also broke windows and vandalized some of the classrooms and offices. But they still weren't done.
"They also opened the school's trophy case and destroyed several of the trophies," he said. "It appears to be between $20,000 and $100,000 in (overall) damage."
Snohomish High Vice Principal Gordy Brockman called the destruction "a senseless act" that is especially damaging after other cutbacks at the school, including staff cuts, to make ends meet.
Neither of the teens attended the school. The girl is from Snohomish and the boy is from Lynnwood.
