City police reported that six high school students were arrested and charged in connection with a high school prank on Friday, June 11.
According to reports,at about 1:35 a.m. Friday morning, Saratoga Springs police received a call from the night custodian at the Saratoga Springs High School, who advised that several people were causing damage to the school. Responding officers located several people in the area and the investigation led to six individuals being charged with Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree and Criminal Tampering in the Third Degree, both misdemeanors. The following individuals were arrested:
Victoria Wilson, 17, of Saratoga Springs
Mackenzie Knight, 18, of Greenfield Center
Emily Inzana, 17, of Saratoga Springs
Alyssa Penfold, 17, of Saratoga Springs
Alexander Meaney, 17, of Saratoga Springs
Lindsey Lowe, 18, of Wilton
Each of the 17 year olds was also charged with violation of the City’s Curfew Ordinance. All of those arrested are students at the High School.
Police allege that the group of students entered the fenced in school grounds, leading to the Criminal Trespass charges, and then engaged in painting the building, outbuilding and school vehicles and at least one personal vehicle of a staff member with some sort of paint, discharging large amounts of silly string and throwing toilet paper. Police allege the offenders wrote various words and phrases on the property including 2010, `Seniors`, as well as a number of curse words and derogatory comments.
`Although it appears that the permanent damage caused by these individuals may be relatively minor, their actions caused an undue amount of law enforcement time and financial expense on the part of the taxpayer. All will be held accountable for their actions,` said Commissioner of Public Safety Richard Wirth in a statement.
The investigation is ongoing and police said they have not ruled out upgraded charges of Criminal Mischief if school personnel are not able to completely clean the damage done to the grounds. Police said they believe more students were involved in this incident and have not ruled out additional arrests.
Superintendent of schools Dr. Janice White said, `This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It is an act of vandalism that disrespects all of the students and the community. It does not reflect the values of the students of Saratoga Springs High School. This investigation is ongo-ing. Persons responsible will face school disciplinary consequences for the actions committed as well. The District appreciates the responsiveness and professionalism of the Saratoga Springs Police Depart-ment and School Resource Officer John Kelly as well as the custodial staff at the High School. `
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