Boys, 8, 10 and 12, Charged With Felony Vandalism

Three preteens--including an 8-year-old--face felony charges of vandalism for causing more than $7,000 in damage to cars parked in an Anaheim lot, police said Friday.

County authorities say that the trio--ages 8, 10 and 12--confessed to using a metal bar, a key and broken sparkplug fragments to scrape and scratch more than a dozen vehicles parked in the 2400 block of West Lincoln Avenue last week.

Like many in the Police Department, Sgt. Jamie Wilkes was taken aback by the situation.

“They’re awful young,” Wilkes said. “It’s unusual that the kids that young would be doing that kind of damage.

“We’ve charged a number of 12-year-olds with felonies,” Wilkes added. “When you start getting down to 8 [years old], that’s down there. That’s what makes this so unusual. It’s not something that happens too often.”

Prosecutors filed felony vandalism charges against the boys on Thursday. A felony is typically charged whenever the damage done is estimated at more than $5,000, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Ed Dougherty.

“It’s one thing for a juvenile to throw a rock at a house window,” Dougherty said. “But this is quite extensive damage.”

The damage to the vehicles--two of which were new--included scratched paint and smashed headlights and windows, Dougherty said.

Police also learned that the juveniles had thrown rocks at people walking in the apartment complex on two occasions, Dougherty said. One nearly hit an elderly man, he said.

“When confronted, they said they were trying to hit a bird,” Dougherty said.

What will happen next to the boys--two of whom are brothers--is unknown. The Department of Social Services will work with prosecutors to resolve the matter.

“Theoretically, an 8-year-old could go to Juvenile Hall,” Wilkes said. “I would think, at 8, the courts would be very leery of that. It depends on the situation.”