12 Students Arrested In Valley Explosions Teen Charged With Arson; 11 Others Arrested On Charges Of Malicious Mischief To Possession Of Explosive Devices
Twelve high school students have been arrested in connection with a series of spring break explosions in the Spokane Valley that damaged three vehicles and a house.
Joshua D. Vande Vanter, 18, made his initial court appearance Thursday, accused of first- and second-degree arson, and possessing an explosive device.
Eleven other students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were arrested on charges ranging from malicious mischief to possession of explosive devices, the Sheriff’s Department said. They were referred to Juvenile Court and their names were not released.
The younger suspects may eventually face arson charges as well, according to court documents.
Arrest warrants are also being sought for five more suspects, said sheriff’s spokesman David Reagan.
All of the teenagers are students at University and Central Valley high schools. They are accused of using carbon dioxide canisters and black powder to blow a hole in the living room window of a house, and shatter windows on two cars and a dump truck during four separate incidents on April 6 and 8.
The targets of the explosions appear to have been chosen at random, sheriff’s officials have said.
Vande Vanter admitted to detectives that he taped the explosives device to the house, dump truck and one of the cars, according to a summary of facts filed in District Court.
A 17-year-old boy confessed to setting an explosive device on the other car, the court document states.
On Thursday, Vande Vanter sat quietly and stared straight ahead during his court appearance.
Family members nervously watched a television monitor as the University High junior answered District Court Commissioner Virginia Rockwood’s questions with one-word answers, choosing to let his attorney do most of the talking.
“I have spoken to Joshua and he takes (the charges) seriously and his family does as well,” attorney Dennis Scott said. He asked Rockwood to release Vande Vanter on personal recognizance.
Vande Vanter’s high school wrestling coach, Don Owen, was among a handful of family friends and relatives who wrote letters asking for the teen’s release without bail.
Rockwood declined the request, set bail at $1,000 and imposed a long list of release conditions.
Those conditions include that Vande Vanter not talk to any of the co-defendants or witnesses, and obey a 10 p.m. curfew on weeknights; 11 p.m. on weekend nights.
“It cramps your style, but it’s a lot better than jail,” Rockwood said.
Vande Vanter’s family posted the bail an hour later, and the teen was released.
Tim and Christine Vande Vanter said the spring break behavior was out of character for the oldest of their four children. They worry that he’ll be held in the same light as the four men accused of the Spokane Valley bombings and robberies, and not as a bored teenager who played a bad prank.
“These kids have so much potential to give to the community,” Tim Vande Vanter said.
Said the teenager’s aunt, Gloria King: “I believe in Joshua as a person. He made a bad choice.”
, DataTimes