Updated at 10:38 a.m., Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Big Island police connect 4 teens to Waiakea High fire
Advertiser Staff
HILO, Hawai'i — Information uncovered in an unrelated case has led Big Island police to single out four teenagers in connection with last year's arson at Waiakea High School that caused $1.5 million in damage.The four males have not been arrested, but the arson case has been turned over to county prosecutors to file charges, said Lt. Randall Medeiros of the Criminal Investigation Division.
One of the teens is now 18 and the others are 17. Medeiros said he did not know whether the teens were high school students at the time of the April 11, 2006, fire.
Investigators determined that an accelerant was used to start the blaze in Building A, the administration building. A neighbor reported the fire at 1:15 a.m. The fire caused extensive damage to the registrar's and other offices and forced school officials to cancel classes for several days.
Police received several tips about the fire from the CrimeStoppers hotline and after the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offered a $5,000 reward. Medeiros said the tips were helpful but detectives were able to nail down the case only after receiving information in the course of investigating a separate case earlier this year.
