HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – More details have been released regarding last month’s fire that caused minor damage to the basement of St. Jude’s Thaddeus Church in Havre.
Court records state that probable cause has been established that two 14-year-old Havre boys committed the misdemeanors of negligent arson, desecration of a place of worship (not exceeding $1,500 in damage), criminal trespass to property, and criminal mischief.
According to the court records, at around 6:49 PM on January 13th, the Havre Fire Department responded to a call on the 400 block of 7th Avenue and extinguished a small fire in the basement storage room.
The Havre Police Department then investigated the incedent. An Officer observed a large pile of burnt paper towels on the basement floor in a storage room that had recently been doused in water by firefighters.
Officers spoke with two people on the scene who reported issues with juveniles “coming into the church and doing inappropriate things such as playing the piano or lighting candles.”
The next day, Officers made contact with the two suspected juveniles, one of which told him that they lit “a napkin on fire” and stomped it out, panicked, and ran. The other juvenile told police that the other juvenile threw the lit napkin at him, but it hit paper towels which then caught on fire. He added they then tried to clean it up with a broom, but the room started to fill with smoke, so they ran away and closed the door behind them hoping to contain the fire. One of the juveniles told police there was no real purpose behind their actions.
The church suffered no structural damage.
Hearings for the two juveniles in Youth Court are scheduled for March 8th in the Hill County Courthouse. If the youths are found to be delinquent, they may be placed on probation and ordered to follow conditions which may include restitution, community service, counseling services, medical and psychological evaluations, payment of court costs and home arrest. Harsher penalties, including placement in a state youth corretionnal facility, are also possible.
