Two of 3 juveniles plead guilty in Central Building fire
Published 9:33 am Wednesday, November 6, 2024
- Dylan Davidson captured this image of the Central Building fire with his drone on May 22, 2024.
Two of the three juveniles charged with arson in the May 22 fire that destroyed Baker City’s historic Central Building have pleaded guilty in juvenile court and will spend an unspecified amount of time in an Oregon Youth Authority prison, District Attorney Greg Baxter told county commissioners on Wednesday.
The two juveniles, whose names, ages and genders haven’t been released, will be under supervision by the youth authority until age 25, the maximum age, Baxter said. They will not be in custody until then, however.
Baxter said Judge Matt Shirtcliff in Baker County Circuit Court sentenced one of the juveniles on Oct. 31, and the other on Nov. 1.
In addition to the supervision by the youth authority, the two juveniles “were also ordered to abide by multiple conditions, including being ordered to pay restitution,” Baxter said.
Charges are still pending against the third suspect. Baxter said that juvenile remains in custody in a detention facility.
Oregon State Police, the lead agency in the fire investigation, announced on Aug. 30 that the three juveniles accused in the Central Building blaze are also charged in multiple thefts of guns.
The 108-year-old building, which was Baker High School from 1917-52 and later was part of the middle school campus until the school district closed it in 2009, was a total loss, and the three-story structure was demolished in July.
Baxter said in September that the criminal charges, which include felonies and misdemeanors, would remain in juvenile court.
The criteria for prosecuting juveniles in adult court are very difficult to meet, he said, and the burden is on the prosecutor to convince a judge to do so.