3 Teens Plead Guilty in Vandalism Case

Three classmates at Tustin High School have been sentenced to a year in a juvenile detention facility after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from a five-week vandalism rampage that caused as much as $100,000 worth of damage to cars, homes and mailboxes, officials said Friday.

A 17-year-old who pleaded guilty Friday and two others, 16 and 17 years old, who entered guilty pleas Wednesday have also been ordered to pay full restitution, prosecutor Kevin Smith said.

Plea negotiations are ongoing with a fourth suspect in the spree, 18-year-old Victor Sarvis, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office said. Sarvis’ pretrial hearing is set for July 7 in Superior Court.

The four were arrested in March when police, responding to a complaint, reportedly discovered the teens destroying a mailbox. They were initially charged with 93 misdemeanor and felony counts of vandalism and conspiracy to commit vandalism. The misdemeanor charges were dropped by Juvenile Court Judge Michael Cassidy on the condition that the teens pay restitution.

At a hearing Sept. 7, a probation report to the judge will help determine how much the teens will be required to pay, said Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Under a California law enacted in September, prosecutors may seek restitution from teens’ parents if they do not pay for damage themselves. This case would be the first in which the Orange County district attorney’s office has sought restitution from parents under the new law, Richards said.

The four youths are accused of uprooting mailboxes and portable toilets, overturning four vehicles, and smashing the windows of homes and cars in Santa Ana, Orange, Mission Viejo and Anaheim.