According to Jackson County Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka, three teenage boys have been suspended from Western High School in Parma, Michigan, for their role in a recent series of blazes that caused significant damage to school property.
The names of the three boys are not being released, as they are minors, but authorities say they are all 14-years-old, and all three face expulsion.
According to authorities, the fires were set on October 13th, destroying an unoccupied house and a large pole barn where the school district stores tiles and unused athletic equipment. These buildings were two of the eight structures on the 32 acre property that the school district bought in 2002.
But Jarzynka has said that after reviewing all of the information produced by the investigation, his office will not be authorizing adult charges against the teen suspects. Instead, they will be charged as juveniles.
Apparently all three of the teens will be charged with breaking and entering, but only two of the three boys will also face juvenile arson charges.
House the three teens set fire to was unoccupied
Michigan law states that in order for an individual to be charged with arson of a dwelling, the building they set fire to must be occupied, in other words lived in, or there must be plans for the building to be lived in.However, the house that the three teens set fire to was unoccupied and the school apparently intended to have it torn down at some point in the future. Which is why the two boys who set the fires will not be facing adult arson charges.
Apparently the teens quickly became suspects because they were all absent from morning classes on the day that the blazes were set, and all three were later heard bragging about having set the fires. The Michigan State Police were contacted by school officials who reported the boy’s absenteeism and criminal claims.
The school’s disciplinary hearings for the three teen suspects took place on November 20th, and were not open to the public.