Redwood City Police Arrest Arson and Vandalism Suspects From Taft School
DATE/TIME: August 6, 2014 @ 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Taft School, 903 10th Avenue, Redwood City
TYPE OF INCIDENT: Arson and Vandalism Suspects Arrested
SUSPECT #1: 15 year-old, male, Redwood City resident
SUSPECT #2: 16 year-old, male, unincorporated Redwood City resident
SUSPECT #3: 14 year-old, male, Redwood City resident
INCIDENT SUMMARY:
On August 3, 2014 at approximately 8:20 pm, Redwood City Police and Redwood City Fire units responded to a fire at Taft School. Upon arrival, fire personnel found an active foliage fire burning on a fence along the west side of the school. Fire personnel quickly extinguished the fire but not before the fire destroyed approximately fifteen feet of ivy type foliage and charred the fence in very close proximity to the buildings. During the follow-up investigation, officers located graffiti painted on several locations within the school and several areas of the building that had been burned by a portable source of ignition. The damage to the structure consisted of charred paint and spray painted graffiti. Redwood City Fire Marshal James Palisi responded to the scene and determined the suspects burned the structure with a torch type device and ignited the freshly painted graffiti which in turn ignited the foliage on the fence.
On Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 4:00 pm, Redwood City detectives located and arrested three juveniles involved in the August 3rd arson and through cooperative interviews determined the same three juveniles were responsible for a graffiti vandalism that occurred at Taft School on July 29th. The identification of the involved juveniles was orchestrated by Detective Joe O’Gorman when he reviewed video surveillance footage collected from the school with school officials, who were able to identify the three involved juveniles. Detectives arrested all three juveniles and recovered evidence connecting them to both incidents. The juveniles were booked into the San Mateo County Juvenile Detention Center for arson and vandalism.
The July 29th graffiti and vandalism incident at Taft School occurred at approximately 7:00 am and was discovered by officers who were dispatched to Taft School, on a report of vandalism. Officers located several areas of the school that had been spray painted with graffiti. The graffiti consisted of various writings in what appeared to be spray painted on the building. The graffiti included the monikers of “Stay True,” “Sp!,” and “Reveri”.
The Redwood City Police Department worked closely with the Redwood City Fire Department and school officials on this investigation and we want to thank all the agencies involved in the investigation and the members of the public who reported the incidents and provided information which helped identify these suspects. Anyone with information regarding these incidents is encouraged to contact Detective Joe O’Gorman at 650-780-7147.
Address/Location
Redwood City Police Department
1301 Maple St
Redwood City, CA 94063
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 650-780-7100
Lieutenant Sean Hart
Investigations Division
[email protected]
650-780-7681
903 Tenth Ave
Redwood City, CA 94063