2 Teens Charged in Hebrew Academy Vandalism

Two teenage boys were charged Tuesday with burglary and vandalism for allegedly breaking into the West Valley Hebrew Academy in Woodland Hills over the weekend and painting swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti on school property, authorities said.

If found guilty, the boys, ages 14 and 15, could face longer sentences, because prosecutors allege their actions constitute a hate crime.

Their names have been withheld because they are minors, but authorities say both live in the area and attend public school.

The teens, who were taken into custody Sunday, remained in custody Tuesday. They are scheduled to be arraigned today.

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 a religious 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 $50,000 to $100,000 in damage at the school at 5724 Oso Ave.

The vandalism also spread to the French American School, a separate French-language school housed on the same campus.

The juveniles, if convicted, could be sentenced to home detention, a group home, juvenile detention camp or the California Youth Authority, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. If found guilty of committing a hate crime, they could serve an additional three years on each count, she said.

Prosecutors could not charge the boys as adults, Gibbons said, because they are under 16. State law also prohibits minors from being charged as adults in all but the most serious violent crimes, such as murder or rape, she said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carla Arranaga, head of the district attorney’s Hate Crimes Suppression Unit, will prosecute the case.