Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 4 Boys Charged in Felony Vandalism

Four boys were arrested this week and charged with burglary and felony vandalism for breaking into a vacant house and destroying lamp fixtures and walls and spray-painting tagger names and anti-police slogans that resulted in an estimated $10,000 damage, authorities said Friday.

Three 12-year-old boys and a 13-year-old were taken into custody following an investigation that began last week, said Deputy John Hudson of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station. The children were released to their parents, Hudson said.

Three of the boys were picked up at Castaic Middle School starting Tuesday, and the last was arrested at his home, Hudson said.

Neighbors ran the boys off from the house in the 27000 block of Firebrand Street in Castaic, but they continued to return over about a monthlong period, he said.

“It was a fun place for them to explore, but things just got out of hand,” Hudson said. “They destroyed stairwell railings, light fixtures and kicked in every piece of drywall in the house.”

Because of the massive amount of damage done, the case has been turned over to the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, Hudson said.

The boys also used cleaning solvent to spray walls with graffiti tagger names and anti-police slogans. Investigators have determined that none of the juveniles arrested are involved with gangs, Hudson said.

“Most of these kids were basically good kids who did some bad stuff,” he said. “It was a mob action.”

The children’s parents can be held civilly liable for the damage to the home, Hudson said.

“One father was talking about all the nice things his kid has, like a mountain bike and surfboard, and what will be sold first to pay for the damage he did,” he said.