3 S. County Children Arrested in Hate Crime, Vandalism

Three children were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of committing a hate crime and vandalizing a family home.

Police said the children--two 12-year-old girls and one 13-year-old boy, all from Laguna Niguel--allegedly confessed to covering a family’s car with food and sanitary napkins Monday, and installing a white cross made of toilet paper above the family’s front gate.

A misspelled racial epithet was also scrawled in chocolate syrup on the family garage.

The attack was the third recently on the $1,500-a-month townhouse where Reginald Burgess, who is African American, and Carol Folk, who is white, live with Burgess’ two children, David, 14, and Jonathan, 8.

“The family has been the victim of two prior vandalisms,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Davis. “The first involved eggs being tossed onto the property. The second was the toilet papering of property.”

Davis said police moved quickly on Monday’s vandalism because of the nature of the crime.

“We can’t tolerate this kind of behavior in our community,” he said. “Our community is built on bringing everyone together. That’s why this kind of energy went into it right away.”

Investigators found the three children with the help of information supplied by the family, along with evidence collected at the crime scene, he said. The racial epithet prompted authorities to arrest them on suspicion of a hate crime, which is a felony, Davis said.

Burgess discovered the vandalism at 6 a.m. Monday, when he left for his job as a sales manager in San Clemente.

Folk said she thought the assault--which, she said, ruined her car--stemmed from a recent dispute between Burgess’ children and the suspected vandals. She added that she and the family are discussing leaving the area.

Davis said that because of their ages, the suspected vandals were returned to the custody of their parents, pending a judge’s review.