This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Torn hymn books lined the hallways. White powder from fire extinguishers coated the floors. And melted gray plastic from burned trash cans dried into the carpet.
That's the damage at a Utah County church — estimated at more than $20,000 — which officials say was caused by three Payson teenage boys late Sunday night.
Police arrested the boys, ages 13, 14 and 14, in connection with the "extensive" vandalism on Monday, according to a news release from Utah County Sheriff's Office, after evidence at the scene and at their homes tied them to the incident. They were booked at Slate Canyon Youth Detention Center in Provo.
Each was charged with burglary, a third-degree felony, criminal mischief, a second-degree felony, and reckless burning, a class A misdemeanor. Two of the boys were charged with class B misdemeanor theft, where the third faces a third-degree felony charge because of prior convictions. One of the boys was also charged with providing false personal information to a police officer, a class B misdemeanor.
The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not identify minors charged with a crime.
The boys allegedly broke into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Elk Ridge about 9 p.m. Sunday, after leaving home without notifying their parents. The trio apparently threw hymn books through ceiling tiles, started small fires in a class room, stole food from a meeting room and emptied out three fire extinguishers "covering nearly the entire building except the chapel," the release states.
A woman who went to the church Monday morning discovered the damage and contacted police. A nearby resident told responding officers that he saw three boys in the area dump trash on his lawn Sunday night.
Evidence at the church "clearly connected these boys to the damage," and officers say the teens also had powder from the fire extinguishers on their clothes and bodies.
One of the 14-year-old boys initially denied any involvement, but later admitted going to the church. The 13-year-old and other 14-year-old "were more forthcoming and told investigators what they had done," the release states. Two of the boys are brothers.
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