The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Two adolescent boys…
By Mark Reaman and Kendra Walker
Two juvenile boys who purportedly committed an act of vandalism on the gravel portion of the new turf field being installed at the Crested Butte Community School will be facing charges for their actions. The incident, which was captured on video from a construction site camera, took place on Saturday, August 2 about 7:30 p.m.
Their actions caused a community uproar given the nature of the vandalism. According to the Crested Butte Marshal’s Department, their names cannot be released given they are juveniles. Based on the video, the two juvenile males on bikes scratched a depiction of male genitalia and a swastika in the gravel of the soccer field that was under construction. The images were about 50 feet across, and it took them only a few minutes to leave the marks.
While marshals were having a hard time finding people who could identify the culprits from the video tape or photos, the boys were identified Tuesday evening when their parents brought them to the marshal’s department. Chief marshal Mike Reily and deputy Brevin Book said the families have been very cooperative.
Reily and Book said one of the boys is 16 years old, lives in the Crested Butte area and attends the Crested Butte Community School. The other is 16 years old and resides outside the valley in Durango.
Both will face charges in Gunnison County Juvenile Court for a charge of criminal mischief. Based on the amount of damage incurred it is considered a petty offense. No details of the cost of repairing the gravel impacted by the etchings have been released.
Gunnison Watershed School District superintendent Leslie Nichols said earlier in the week that, “We’re disheartened to report an act of vandalism at the new turf field under construction at Crested Butte Community School… offensive images were dug into the gravel base, requiring costly re-grading and repair. More importantly, we are dismayed and appalled by this violation and the nature of these images, which have no place at our school or in our community. In incidents like this, it is imperative that we work together as a community to talk with our children to uphold our values and safety for all.”
The Crested Butte News sent Nichols a list of questions late Wednesday afternoon about the cost of gravel repair, school protocol for such situations, and what next steps are for the student and school. Nichols did not respond before the press deadline.
