A 12-year-old Kalaheo girl was detained and released yesterday on suspicion she may have started the May 7 Kalaheo School fire, police officials confirmed. The fire destroyed a 100-year-old building and caused well over $250,000 in damage to the school.
A 12-year-old Kalaheo girl was detained and released yesterday on suspicion she may have started the May 7 Kalaheo School fire, police officials confirmed.
The fire destroyed a 100-year-old building and caused well over $250,000 in damage to the school.
The girl, whose identity could not be released because of her age, was brought in by her parents to Kaua‘i Police Department headquarters in Lihu‘e, police officials said. She was booked and released to the custody of her parents without talking to investigators, they said.
State Department of Education personnel assisted in corroborating leads developed by police detectives, and police notified the girl’s parents, telling the parents their daughter would be detained as a suspect. The parents then brought their daughter in.
Police officials said that they do not believe the girl acted alone, and they are following possible leads on other people who may have been involved.
The girl, who is too old to attend the damaged school, is a Kalaheo resident, police said. She faces charges ranging from firstdegree, criminal-property damage, a class-B felony, to third-degree criminal-property damage, a misdemeanor.
The difference, officials said, is whether prosecutors can prove, after gathering their case, that the fire was intentionally set.
The third-degree charge, according to state law, requires that the “actor recklessly damages the property of another, without the other’s consent, by the use of widely dangerous means,” in this case fire.
The first-degree charge holds if the act is proven intentional or proved it put people at risk for bodily injury.
For an adult, a first-degree charge carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. The third-degree charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail.
But the 12-year-old will be tried in Family Court, because of her age and the circumstances of the crime, officials said.
In Family Court, a child “is sentenced to what is in the best interests of the minor,” said County Prosecuting Attorney Craig De Costa. “The judge has wider discretion in a juvenile case.”
Also, De Costa said, the process moves a little quicker. Lawyers in the prosecutor’s office try to get a case together in major juvenile cases within a month, he said.
Plus, all Family Court proceedings are closed to the public, including any possible judge’s decision on culpability, sentencing, or restitution, De Costa added.
The early-morning fire destroyed the 100-year-old administration building and damaged a covered walkway and two portable classrooms. A damage amount has yet to be calculated, but is expected to climb to well over a quarter of a million dollars.
Police said they are continuing their investigation. Anyone who has information may also call Crime Stoppers at 241-1887. Callers may remain anonymous, and there is a reward offered if information leads to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved, officials said.
KPD Detective Michael Gordon, lead investigator in this case, may be reached at 241-1683.
