Montrose - Daily Press

Students suspended in bizarre vandalism case

Katharhynn Heidelberg

Daily Press News Editor

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DELTA — A cash reward led school administrators to five suspects in a disturbing incident at Delta High.

Custodians and building maintenance staff members found the rotting carcass of a calf shoved into a ventilation pipe at the school Tuesday.

“It was decayed. It was part of a dead calf,” Delta’s Director of School and Community Relations John Jones said Thursday.

Five students were identified, three of whom were said to have actually participated in the mischief. The three have been suspended and all five reportedly agreed to pay restitution.

Jones said the maggot-infested remains found Tuesday were of a head and part of the upper body of a bovine, but it appeared the animal had been dead before the suspects obtained it from one of the boys’ family ranch.

He said the suspects pulled off a ventilation system cap before cramming the animal’s remains inside at 12- to 16-inch pipe. That tampering caused an estimated $1,500 in damages and both police and the health department were called, Jones said.

Delta Police Chief Richard Bacher confirmed police were made aware of the incident, but said there has been no formal complaint from the school seeking to pursue formal charges.

“We have been notified,” he said. “It’s up to them to determine whether they want us to take any enforcement action.”

Bacher said that in most Colorado cases, the victim has the right to decide whether to pursue charges. Exceptions include such crimes as domestic violence.

“In a case like this, an entity has a right to determine whether they are a victim or not. If they want to resolve this thing as a civil matter, that would be within their right,” he said.

Jones said the school district was unlikely to pursue charges. “If we get restitution and the boys serve out their suspensions, we probably would not pursue the law enforcement side of it.”

He said the students told school officials and their parents the stunt was considered a senior prank. “They were thinking it was fun and games but it obviously wasn’t,” he said Friday.

“There was property damage. We consider it more than just a harmless prank. Sometimes, kids will do harmless pranks this time of year, but this was not harmless,” Jones said earlier, on Thursday.

“Things that start out as a prank can get pretty risky pretty fast. We’re fortunate we don’t get a lot of that kind of stuff,” Jones said.

It was the smell that revealed the deed, he said, and some classrooms had to be aired out. Maintenance staff had the unpleasant task of removing the calf.

“It was pretty bad,” Jones said, praising maintenance for rising to the occasion.

The school was able to isolate the affected parts of its ventilation system. Because of the weather, it didn’t need heat or air conditioning.

“We were lucky that way,” Jones said. “I suppose we would’ve had a whole different problem if it had been in the middle of January and we needed heat.”

The students accessed an area of the building not protected by security cameras, but an assistant principal announced a $100 reward for information and hit pay dirt.

“We got the names right away,” Jones said.

All but one of the boys is a senior class member, he said. Though there had been talk of excluding them from graduation ceremonies, the decision was made to suspend them instead.

The suspension means they won’t be allowed to go on the senior class trip or participate in any senior week activities.

“This time of year should be a time of pride and celebration and they’re going to clear out the year being in trouble,” Jones said.

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