Saturday, October 01, 2005
From The What Goes Around, Comes Around File
TEEN TRIES TO BURN DOWN MORMON CHURCH
Teen charged in church fire
Teen charged in church fire
Blackfoot senior is accused of setting fire to Mormon ward house
BLACKFOOT (AP) -- A senior at Blackfoot High School is out on $5,000 bond after he was charged with arson in a fire at a Mormon church ward house.
Gabriel Pelayo, 17, will be charged as an adult for the Feb. 27 fire and vandalism, which caused more than $500,000 in damage to the building.
Pelayo was arrested last week after several high school students told police that he had bragged on Thursday about burning down the building used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"He was making comments that only a person involved would know these things," Bingham County Sheriff Dave Johnson said.
"He had some problems with some LDS kids, and it was kind of a get-back at the Mormon religion," Johnson said Tuesday.
Pelayo has been ordered to appear in the 7th Judicial District Magistrate Court for Bingham County Oct. 6, where a judge will determine whether there is enough evidence to have him answer the arson charge in District Court, a court clerk said.
Arson is a felony that carries a penalty of up to 35 years in prison.
Officials think more than one person was involved in the fire, "but we haven't gathered enough evidence to make an arrest," Johnson said.
The ward house had recently been renovated when it was set on fire. Early in the morning of Feb. 27, its glass doors were smashed, and the lobby furnishings were piled in a corner, doused with a flammable liquid, and set on fire, police said. Heating, electrical, and other mechanical systems had to be replaced.
Church members who use the building held services there Sunday for the first time since the fire.
If convicted, Pelayo could be ordered to pay restitution for the damage.
Gabriel Pelayo, 17, will be charged as an adult for the Feb. 27 fire and vandalism, which caused more than $500,000 in damage to the building.
Pelayo was arrested last week after several high school students told police that he had bragged on Thursday about burning down the building used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"He was making comments that only a person involved would know these things," Bingham County Sheriff Dave Johnson said.
"He had some problems with some LDS kids, and it was kind of a get-back at the Mormon religion," Johnson said Tuesday.
Pelayo has been ordered to appear in the 7th Judicial District Magistrate Court for Bingham County Oct. 6, where a judge will determine whether there is enough evidence to have him answer the arson charge in District Court, a court clerk said.
Arson is a felony that carries a penalty of up to 35 years in prison.
Officials think more than one person was involved in the fire, "but we haven't gathered enough evidence to make an arrest," Johnson said.
The ward house had recently been renovated when it was set on fire. Early in the morning of Feb. 27, its glass doors were smashed, and the lobby furnishings were piled in a corner, doused with a flammable liquid, and set on fire, police said. Heating, electrical, and other mechanical systems had to be replaced.
Church members who use the building held services there Sunday for the first time since the fire.
If convicted, Pelayo could be ordered to pay restitution for the damage.
