WARREN — Five juvenile suspects were arrested Tuesday in connection to the vandalism at the construction site of the new wellness center at Warren G. Harding High School earlier this month.

John Lacy, WCS Director of Business Operations, stated, “Based upon our internal investigation, WCS was able to provide the Warren City Police Department with video and still photographs of a number of juveniles who entered the secured construction site of the Warren City School District Student Recreation and Wellness Center the evening of the break-in. Ultimately, warrants were issued and multiple juveniles were arrested on charges related to the break-in and vandalism of the WCS Recreation and Wellness Center”

According to a Warren police report filed last week, Lacy reported to police that a group of juveniles vandalized the press box at Mollenkopf Stadium.

According to Lacy’s account, four unidentified juveniles unlawfully accessed the school property and proceeded to vandalize the visitor’s press box April 6 about 11:30 a.m. The suspects, two girls and two boys, allegedly parked their bicycles at the rear of the visitors’ bleachers before jumping the fence using a cement barricade.

Once on stadium grounds, the juveniles purportedly gained entry to the press box, unplugged all camera feeds and discharged a fire extinguisher throughout the press box.

Lacy also reported vandalism to the softball field and its dugout.

Subsequently, a lock had been installed on a roof access hatch on the press box, and the cameras were restored.

In a separate incident the week before, construction crews at the Warren City Schools Wellness and Recreational Center reported vandalism to the construction site. Vandals used a latex adhesive to write profanity and draw lewd images on new drywall.

Several pieces of equipment were damaged, including a Verizon tablet, four bags of grout, three buckets of latex adhesive, and buckets of screws and nails that were scattered around the construction site. Additionally, two fire extinguishers were discharged inside the building.

The foreman estimated that extensive manpower hours were required to clean and replace the damage.

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