2 Teenage Boys Charged in Vandalism at Hebrew School
Two teenage boys were charged Tuesday with burglary and vandalism for allegedly breaking into the West Valley Hebrew Academy over the weekend and painting swastika and anti-Semitic graffiti on school property, officials said.
Prosecutors said that if convicted of hate crimes, the boys, 14 and 15, could face extended sentences. Their names have been withheld because they are minors. Authorities said only that both attend public school in the area.
Each boy is charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of vandalism causing more than $500 in damage and one count of vandalism of an institution in which religious instruction is given. The 14-year-old also is charged with resisting arrest.
They are accused of spraying fire extinguishers into classrooms, breaking windows, smashing computers and scrawling graffiti, causing damage estimated at $50,000 to $100,000. Police said the vandalism spread to the French-American School, a separate French-language school housed on the campus.
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