Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that the second of two Ventura teenagers was found responsible for the July 22, 2021, arson at Mound Elementary School in Ventura. In December 2021, another teenager admitted her role in the arson.
On July 22, 2021, at approximately 1:00 a.m. two female teenagers entered the campus of Mound Elementary School. The teenagers threw rocks at a classroom window. Once the window shattered, the first teenager climbed in through the window and let the second teenager into the classroom. One of the teenagers then lit an American flag on fire, as the second teenager videotaped the incident. The second teenager posted a video of the American flag and the school burning on social media. The arson caused more than $1 million of damage to the school.
The teenager who admitted her role in the arson in December was sentenced to a grant of deferred entry of judgement for 36 months. She was also ordered to pay restitution to the Ventura Unified School District for the damage caused by the fire. The second teenager was sentenced lasT week to 30 days on electronic monitoring with 60 days stayed pending further review by the court. This is in addition to 179 days the teenager has already served in the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Center. A restitution hearing is set for June 10, 2022.