Youthful vandals plead guilty
Guilty pleas were entered by seven youths Monday for an attack on a house this May which terrorized a Hennessee Bridge couple.
The defendants, ages 13 to 17, entered guilty pleas in juvenile court Monday to the charge of vandalism. A pre-sentencing report will be prepared and punishment will be handed out by Juvenile Judge Larry Ross at a later date.
The charges were leveled after the teens inflicted several thousand dollars in damage to the residence of Christie Bain and her fianc?, Billy Dunlap. According to the victims, the incident happened around 1 a.m. when the front windows of the house were shattered, showering the victims with glass as they tried to seek cover.
“I’ve never been so terrified in all my life. We thought someone was coming to get us,” Bain said. “We had no way to know it was a bunch of kids.”
A damage assessment following the attack revealed about every window of the house had been broken with pellet and paintball guns and rocks. The doors also sustained damage as did two vehicles parked in the driveway. Neither Bain nor Dunlap were injured, although they were shaken by the event.
The teens’ cases will be handled within the juvenile court system, meaning there is a wide range of programs for the court to choose from, ranging from probation, community service work and counseling to commitment to the department of youth services.
In addition to the Hennessee Bridge incident, some of the suspects were also charged with breaking a pair of windshields the same evening. One incident involved breaking the windshield of a moving car on Old Rock Island Road while another involved breaking the windshield of a car on Solomon Road. The reason why the teens committed the vandalism remains a mystery. The parents of the teens will likely be held liable for paying for the property damage.