THE NEWS DESK
The News Desk is a collection of news, notes and breaking items affecting the Fredericksburg community.
Teens trashed elementary school in Stafford County, police say
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By KEITH EPPS
Two Stafford County teenagers were arrested early Sunday while causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to a county elementary school, police said.
Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy said Deputy Joseph Floirendo went to Hampton Oaks Elementary School on Northampton Boulevard in North Stafford about 1:20 a.m. in response to a call from an alarm company.
Floirendo was checking the exterior of the building when he noticed broken glass inside. He entered the school and heard footsteps and the sound of voices, Kennedy said.
The deputy kept the area under surveillance as he waited for backup, Kennedy said. Deputy Dale Colona soon arrived and the deputies went into the school to search for the intruders.
They soon encountered two males wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks and ordered them to the ground. The suspects complied and their masks were removed.
The school principal and other deputies soon came to the scene and substantial damage was discovered. Among the items broken were tables, a sound system, televisions, computer monitors, ceramic globes and glass. In addition, Kennedy said, every book in the school library had been pulled off the shelves and thrown onto the floor.
The intoxicated intruders apparently walked out of the school at one point during the vandalism spree, police said. Fire extinguishers had been removed from the building and sprayed onto the outside of the building, police said.
The investigation revealed that the suspects had entered the school through the roof, Kennedy said. Police have tentatively estimated the damage at at least $15,000.
Jarred Tyler Kee, 19, is charged with breaking and entering, felony vandalism, two counts of conspiracy, unlawful entry, 15 counts of misdemeanor vandalism, underage possession of alcohol, possession of marijuana, public intoxication, trespassing, smoking in a school building and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.
A 17-year-old boy was also charged with multiple offenses and is being held in the Rappahannock Juvenile Detention Center. Police did not name him because he is a juvenile.
