MILTON, W.Va. — Two 13-year olds are in a heap of trouble in Cabell County.
Milton police said the teens will face an array of destruction of property charges after they allegedly tossed rocks at passing vehicles on I-64 last Friday and Saturday night.
“Almost all of the damage is confined to windshields, side glass, body and paint damage. One particular vehicle had $9,300 in damage and we’ve got a couple of others that are upwards of $3,000,” said Milton Police Chief Joe Parsons.
Parsons said his officers had been taking phoned in reports from victims who claimed the rocks, some of them the size of a grapefruit, were hurled from the woods along the interstate. Investigators have been deliberately vague about the location.
“I don’t want everybody in the tri-state region with a cracked windshield to come out claiming this is how it happened. We’re asking them to explain specifically where and how it happened. We’re also asking for pictures and a written estimate of damages,” Parsons said.
As of Wednesday morning, Parsons said his officers had collected information on damage to a dozen different vehicles. The rocks were the same ones used in the ongoing construction work all along the highway in the Milton community. Nobody actually saw the rocks being thrown, but police got a break when the young suspects made one key mistake.
“My officers were able to estimate where the rocks were thrown from based on the evidence at the scene and went up into the woods where it looked like they came from. They found a cell phone that had been left there,” Parsons said.
Monday, the officers went to the homes and confronted the two juveniles and their parents. Parsons said once the investigation is complete they plan to take out juvenile petitions for all of the different vehicles damaged. Any destruction of property charge over $2,500 is a felony. Parsons estimated the total of the damage reported so far is between $20,000 and $25,000 total and the parents are on the hook for it.
“They are liable for any damages their children cause. I don’t know if there’s a cutoff or limit for how much they are liable for, if they have the ability to pay,” he said.
Parsons added however, it was very fortunate nobody was injured or killed in any of the incidents.