GOLDEN, Colo.—A 15-year-old student has admitted in a handwritten statement that he started the fire that caused $2.5 million in damage to Bear Creek High School in Lakewood.
The statement written to school officials was admitted as evidence Thursday in the teen’s first-degree arson trial in Jefferson County juvenile court.
The April 22 fire in a gymnasium forced the evacuation of the school and cancellation of classes for the day. The West Metro Fire Department put the fire down in about 30 minutes, but 60 percent of the school suffered fire and/or smoke damage.
In the statement, the boy wrote that he was “totally willing to take whatever punishment I have coming.”
The boy’s best friend is on probation for two years for making false statements about the fire.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
