Printable VersionOne of six teenage gang members accused of vandalizing school property was indicted Thursday on a felony count of aggravated criminal damage.
Zayas, an illegal immigrant, must first go through the judicial process before he is deported, said Trish Carter, spokeswoman for the Mohave County sheriff’s office. If he is convicted, he’ll serve at least part of his sentence, then be deported, Carter said. Zayas faces up to two years in prison, Huss said.
Zayas is believed to be part of a street gang known as C.I.D. - Criminals Initiating Damage, which is affiliated with the Sureno street gang in Southern California, police Lt. Rich Sloma said.
He and five other teens were arrested last week after a video showing several of them pelting cars with rocks and eggs in the LHHS parking lot surfaced on the Internet. Huss declined to comment on whether the other teens, who range from 13 to 18 years old, would be indicted.
Sloma said the teens filmed the video themselves, though it’s unclear when it was first posted on the Web. He said police found out about the video through an anonymous tip in mid-December during the school’s winter break.
Sloma said school officials helped identify the teens in the video after the break was over. Restrooms at Thunderbolt Middle School and Rotary Community Park were also defaced, along with Thunderbolt’s locker room. In all, the vandalism totaled at least $1,000 in damage, Sloma said.
Police believe the schools were vandalized sometime between October and December, though Sloma didn’t give specific dates. He said Rotary Park was vandalized Jan. 4.
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