Gilroy
– An 11-year-old girl arrested in connection with last month’s
fire at Glen View Elementary School will remain out of custody as
the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office determines
charges.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – An 11-year-old girl arrested in connection with last month’s fire at Glen View Elementary School will remain out of custody as the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office determines charges.
At the time of her arrest, the girl was served with a Juvenile Contact Report, a citation that is forwarded to juvenile probation that brings the minor to the department’s attention.
The report includes a probable cause statement that describes the arson in which the girl is a suspect, provides people who observed the crime, and
lists damages, according to
a probation department spokesman. Police may also submit supplemental reports with more details along with the report.
The DA will review the report to determine what charges will be filed based on the seriousness of the arson. Depending on the review, the case will be evaluated against the whole range of options offered by the county’s juvenile system, including informal, or formal, supervision.
Police arrested the girl, a middle school student who lives near Glen View, on Wednesday. Police and fire investigators received a tip about the girl on the day of the fire, but delayed the arrest because the girl was involved as a witness in an unrelated case. Her identity was not revealed because she is a minor.
More arrests could follow as the investigation continues. Gilroy police Detective Mitch Madruga, who was off Friday, indicated Thursday he would interview three additional possible suspects, all minors between 6 and 14 years old.
Police believe the arrested girl, who did not attend Glen View for elementary school, started a fire on a janitorial cart located just outside one of the school’s classrooms on March 29. The fire completely destroyed one room, and damaged three others, rendering the four-classroom wing unusable.
The school district was on spring break at the time, so no students and few teachers were on campus, and no one was in the classrooms that burned.
