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Police arrest two juveniles for vandalism and arson damages at Daniel Lewis Middle School

Paso Robles Police Department

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – Police arrested two 14-year-olds for vandalism and arson damages at Daniel Lewis Middle School in Paso Robles, according to the Paso Robles Police Department.

Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Curt Dubost, said "Sometime last evening a person or persons entered the campus of Lewis Middle School and vandalized the campus by attempting to start several fires and painting graffiti in several places."

Dubost said that the vandals were successful in starting a fire outside the 200 Building, resulting in some smoke damage to two classrooms.

The police department said that school employees found a fire burning outside the classroom around 6:35 a.m., which they were able to quckly extinguish and alert the fire department.

The fire did not penetrate the wall, but Dubost said that the classrooms were unusable on Friday.

Detectives discovered that a large plastic waste container full of paper was purposely set on fire, and that the intensity of the fire almost caught the building on fire and caused damage to the building and door to the classroom.

As officers were investigating the cause of the fire, police said they discovered several banners around the school that had also been burned, and other areas that were vandalized with spray paint.

Investigating officers said they found social media posts showing the two juveniles actively setting fires around the school.

The footage showed the two 14-year-olds using an aerosol can and a lighter to light a paper banner on fire, according to the police department.

The School Resource Officer and school staff identified both of the 14-year-olds from Paso Robles, according to police.

Officers arrested the two juveniles for one count of felony arson, one felony count of vandalism, and several counts of misdemeanor vandalism.

The 14-year-olds were both transported to Juvenile Services Center in San Luis Obispo, according to the police department.

The Middle School continued to be in session on Friday, and Dubost said that the damaged classrooms should be back in service on Monday.

Paso Robles Fire and Police Department are continuing to investigate this incident, and Dubost asked that if anyone has any information regarding the incident to please contact the Paso Robles Police Department at 805-237-6464.

Article Topic Follows: San Luis Obispo County
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