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Uploaded: Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 4:20 PM
Palo Alto police arrest three students for arson
Local youths implicated in four, possibly more fires at Palo Alto schools
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by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Online Staff
Three teens have been arrested in connection with a series of arsons at Hoover Elementary School, according to a joint statement issued by the Palo Alto police and fire departments.
The youths, two males ages 15 and 17 and a 17-year-old female, were arrested Tuesday after police and fire units responded at 9:40 p.m. to a report of a burning recycling bin at Hoover Elementary School, 445 E. Charleston Road.
It was the third such intentional fire set within the past week.
Responding police units established a perimeter while the fire department quickly extinguished the fire, preventing significant damage, according to the press release.
The fire was reported by a Palo Alto Unified School District custodian, who called 911 and provided police with a description and the direction of travel of three possible suspects.
The custodian saw three youths running away from the area where the burning bin was located. A short time later, police officers located and detained three persons matching the descriptions.
The custodian positively identified all three juveniles. The youths were arrested and interviewed by a police detective, according to the release.
The investigation revealed that the suspects were responsible for the Hoover fire and four prior school-related fires.
Two of the suspects are local public high school students and a third recently attended a Palo Alto school. He recently left the area, according to Detective Brian Philip. The youths were later released to their parents.
Since January, 30 fires were started in trash receptacles, portable toilets and recycling bins at the parks and on school campuses at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Fairmeadow, El Carmelo and Hoover elementary schools and possibly at Gunn High School, Philip said.
Police, the fire department and the school district recently implemented an arson-suppression plan because of the numerous arson fires. Multiple blazes were also set at Bol and Juana Briones parks, he said.
"They were getting more frequent and dangerous, getting closer to buildings. At El Carmelo, the fire was in a trash can next to a wall and the fire spread to the wall," he said.
Tuesday's fire was set next to a wall and could have set the Hoover school ablaze. The custodian moved the receptacle away from a wall, however, he said.
Investigators are looking into whether the students were responsible for any of the other 30 blazes, which were similar in nature to the Hoover arson, he said. The youths used matches or lighters to start the fires, Philip said.
There seems to be "no motive other than fascination and experimentation," Philip said.
None of the youths have prior offenses. They could face time in juvenile hall or probation and some form of restitution to the school and through the courts would be instituted, he added.
School-district officials said they are pleased with the results of their collaboration with police and fire officials in nabbing the arsonists.
"We are thrilled. We are so happy we were able to find who did it. We really, really appreciate the cooperation between the Palo Alto Police Department, the Fire Department and the School District," said Linda Common, assistant superintendent.
How the students will be handled from the district's level depends on many factors and is a process based on the state education codes, California penal code, age, background and other district procedures, she said.
"Every student goes through the procedure. Every student is handled differently," she said.
Police saw a halt in arson activity between early July and late August since the arson-suppression plan was implemented.
The cessation was a result of a related arrest, increased community awareness, and prevention measures enacted by the school district and fire department, according to the release.
"Palo Alto Police, Fire, and the School District will continue a joint effort to protect our schools and to encourage arson awareness.
"Palo Alto employees and citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activity on school campuses. Without a community effort, successful investigations are less possible," the release stated.
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| Comments
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Posted by Gardner, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 23, 2009 at 5:48 pm Glad they finally caught them. Many thanks to the police and fire departments, you guys saved our MP room the other night.
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Posted by Ugh, a resident of another community, on Sep 23, 2009 at 6:14 pm Firebugs are never a good asset to the community. 5 fires is not a good indication of their character. Glad they were caught.
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Posted by John, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 23, 2009 at 7:03 pm Does "local public high school students" mean Gunn or Paly?
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Posted by qq, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Sep 23, 2009 at 7:07 pm Where were the parents? It was great listening to the cat and mouse game with them moving between the schools once the PAPD was trying to flush them out. Great job PAPD.
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Posted by Petra Alba, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on Sep 23, 2009 at 7:34 pm Thank you PD and thank you school Custodian.
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Posted by wow, a resident of the Charleston Gardens neighborhood, on Sep 23, 2009 at 7:50 pm John
Curious -- what difference does it make what school they were from?
Doesn't the fire burn just as hot regardless of whether they attended Paly, Gunn or some other high school?
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Posted by A girl, a member of the Terman Middle School community, on Sep 23, 2009 at 9:18 pm Thank-you so much Janitor Jose. You saved my elementary school. :):):):):):):)
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Sep 24, 2009 at 12:38 am This is very serious. Is the community going to address this issue by taking a firm stand against youthful arsonists? Is a march going to be organized to take back the safety of the community? Were they really a gang, since they seem to meet the basic legal criteria befitting a gang? Is Sharon going to pop on here to make some of her astute yet controversial observations & suggestions? I know it's scary to be a snitch, so it took a most likely overworked, underpaid custodian to take a stand. Way to go!
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Posted by wow, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Sep 24, 2009 at 1:50 am WOW, WONDER IF THE CUTODIAN DESERVES A RAISE, OR WILL HE GET A NICE HEAVTY BONUS....I BET HE WAS TIRED OF CLEANING THAT CRAP UP, HE TOOK A STAND HIMSELF...THE TEACHERS ANS SCHOOL STAFF DIDNT HELP HIM CLEAN...KUDOS
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Posted by Mom - Hoover, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Sep 24, 2009 at 11:04 am Thank you PAPD, PAUSD, Fire dept and an big Thank you to the dedicated Hoover custodian for protecting our schools! Great job and many thanks!! our kids came home and told us the story and were beaming that their beloved custodian had protected their school.
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Posted by Mom is upset, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Sep 24, 2009 at 11:39 am Hummm. Too old (and now illegal) to spank. Too bad. Their rear ends should be the thing that is on fire...eh, fireman??!!
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Posted by Neighbor, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 24, 2009 at 12:55 pm I wonder if these school fires were set by the same persons who set the trash bin fires in Mitchell Park, Charleston Shopping Center and the Cubberley Community Center.
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Posted by wow, a resident of the Charleston Gardens neighborhood, on Sep 24, 2009 at 1:44 pm these kids aCHILDREN!re part of your community and you want them lynched. gee,wonder why kids are mad these dayus. you are so ready to hate CHILDREN. dont have chilkdren.even kids know they are not really wanted. thats why they do these things.
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Posted by another parent, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 24, 2009 at 4:02 pm wow, have you any idea how dangerous it is to start a fire and leave it to burn unattended? Have you ever seen a burn victim? What about your home? Would you like to see it burned? No, they shouldn't be lynched. But they and their parents need intervention before they do something irreversible.
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Posted by Mom is upset, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Sep 25, 2009 at 1:25 am I wonder what kind of citizens the kids that had their plan backfire on them in the Gunn High School incident years back. That was when they had the cement trash receptical explode - was originally to be a prank that turned out wrong- that caused damage to people and property. They had to apologize to their peers on stage and I can't recall what other things they were repremanded to do.........Hoping they have all turned their ways around and are now productive citizens...............anyone follow up on that story?
And wow-Charleston Gardens neighbor- I love and like children very much, although sometimes I do not like the things they may do..of course they have to be corrected if they are wrong. Ya think?
No one is lynching anyone around this town. What an absurd thought. But on the other hand, no one is putting up with juniors little dirty deeds, either!
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Posted by Alan, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Sep 25, 2009 at 7:28 am >> I wonder what kind of citizens the kids that had their plan
>> backfire on them in the Gunn High School incident years
>> back. That was when they had the cement trash receptical explode...
Didn't that happen at Paly? I don't recall that incident as being at Gunn.
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Posted by B. Li, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Sep 25, 2009 at 8:54 am Alan, the correct location is Gunn H.S. and it was a smoke bomb that went bad, causing burns to students and a near tragedy to numerous other nearby students. It all started as a juvenile prank gone bad. IMHO, the parents should be also be held accountable/responsible for any damages caused by their juvenile children, that's what civil litigation is all about!
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Posted by Mary, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Sep 25, 2009 at 4:37 pm What difference does it make if it was a Paly or Gunn student? These kids need help. They should be made to pay for the damage. Of, course, if they are white, nothing will be done to them. If they are black or brown, poor kids. They'll be sent to death row.
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Posted by It's too Hot, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 25, 2009 at 5:19 pm I sure hope these kids are not let off easy.
I have seen too many kids get off easy because their parent were able to afford good legal defense.
I say to the parents as part of their punishment. Let the court appointed attorney do his or her best.
These little brats need to sit in juvenile hall for a few weekends. Do some roadside cleanup, so we can all point and stare.
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