EPHRATA – Two teenagers have pleaded guilty in a break-in and vandalism that caused more than $465,000 in damage to the Almira/Coulee-Hartline High School.
Andrew Dominic Ertz, 17, who said he participated only in the break-in, pleaded guilty July 17 to second-degree burglary and first-degree malicious mischief and was sentenced to 30 days in detention, with credit for the 11 days he has spent behind bars, plus eight months under community supervision and 80 hours of community service.
Maxwell Carl Werner, 18, is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 29 after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, first-degree malicious mischief and two counts of first-degree trafficking in stolen property. Grant County prosecutors said they would seek an 18-month prison term.
The two Almira teenagers were arrested in January for a break-in over the Thanksgiving weekend at the rural school, built in the 1920s between Grand Coulee Dam and Moses Lake.
About $13,000 worth of digital cameras, laptop computers and other electronic equipment were stolen, but most of the damage was from flooding after three second-floor fire hydrant faucets were opened and water rushed through the floor and into the walls.
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