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Arsonist's parents must pay $715,000
Ann Arbor News ^ | 11-11-03 | Tom Tolen

Posted on 11/11/2003 4:10:20 PM PST by Dan from Michigan

Arsonist's parents must pay $715,000

Judge suggests they try to get money from insurance company

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

BY TOM TOLEN
News Staff Reporter

HOWELL - The parents of a student who set fire to the Howell High School last year must pay for all of the damage, which totaled more than $715,000.

Livingston County Family Court Judge Susan Reck ruled Monday that the parents are legally responsible for their son's actions and must pay the full amount of restitution.

Reck, who has scheduled a review hearing for Feb. 12, suggested to the couple that they try to get the money from their insurance carrier. In the interim, Reck got the district's insurance carrier to agree that it would not attempt to collect from the parents before the next hearing.

Ed Davison of Flint, the lawyer for State Farm, the parents' insurance company, could not be reached for comment on the judge's decision.

Reck ordered the boy to pay fines of $225, court costs of $705 and a victim assessment payment of $160. He also must reimburse the state for his time in a residential treatment facility.

At a June hearing, the judge ruled that more than $715,000 in damage to the school must be reimbursed to the schools' insurance carrier, but did not rule how much the parents, and how much the boy, would have to pay.

The boy was sentenced on July 15 on three counts of arson, breaking and entering, and malicious destruction of property. He was given a blended sentence, pleading guilty as an adult, but being sentenced as a juvenile. He remains at Arbor Heights Center in Ann Arbor, where he has been held since sentencing.

On April 8, 2002, the boy, who is now 16, broke into the high school where he was a student and set several fires in the library. It tripped the school's sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire but caused considerable water damage. The boy was arrested two days later when police say they caught him trying to break into McPherson Middle School.


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: arson; howell; school
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Mixed views. Personally, I think the kid should pay it instead of the parents bailing him out, but I much rather have his parents pay for it than those of us that live in the Howell School District....like me.
1 posted on 11/11/2003 4:10:21 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
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To: Dan from Michigan
I know a kid in Howell, who is sixteen, and would do something like this. I wonder if this was him? I am sure his identity is hidden from the public, right?

2 posted on 11/11/2003 4:13:24 PM PST by Pan_Yans Wife (You may forget the one with whom you have laughed, but never the one with whom you have wept.)
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To: Pan_Yans Wife
The Livingston County Press gave out his name. Sean McEvoy.
3 posted on 11/11/2003 4:16:08 PM PST by Dan from Michigan ("Dead or alive, I got a .45, and I never miss" - AC/DC)
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To: Dan from Michigan
I like it. It's about time parents be held responsible for the troublemakers they creat. If this happened more often, parents might start paying attention to junior before junior spirals out of control.

I wonder if this kid is on Ritalin....?
4 posted on 11/11/2003 4:17:01 PM PST by Humidston (Two Words: TERM LIMITS)
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To: Humidston
Create
5 posted on 11/11/2003 4:18:14 PM PST by Humidston (Two Words: TERM LIMITS)
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To: Humidston
The only thing I'm worried about is if the parent's bail little Johnny out instead of making him work it off.

I'd rather see the kid have to pay for it himself....we can start by having him shovel horse manure from the local stables every weekend and after hours till he's 18.

6 posted on 11/11/2003 4:21:30 PM PST by Dan from Michigan ("Dead or alive, I got a .45, and I never miss" - AC/DC)
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To: Dan from Michigan
Let me imagine I'm a teenager....I can get an abortion without my parent's permission, If my parent's discipline me for anything I can run to Child Protective Services and get them in trouble and now I can burn down a school and my parents have to pay.....cool!

Parenthood today: Responsibility without Authority.

7 posted on 11/11/2003 4:24:18 PM PST by FReepaholic (Never Forget: www.september-11-videos.com)
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To: Humidston
Actually the kid was suffering from severe depression and was on Paxil.

I would suspect that he was also psychotic. After he was caught burning down the highschool he was placed in a special facility for safe keeping.

His lawyer was going to look into the kind of defense you can build for having used Paxil. That seems to have been a mistake. Lots of folks are always leaping to the conclusion that "the drug did it" when, in fact, it's the underlying organic brain damage or other cause of psychotic behavior "that did it".

Prozac and Paxil really can't cure those problems.

This is another case of misdiagnosis where insufficient testing probably played a part. The kid's psychiatrist probably ought to be contacting his malpractice insurance company about now.

No doubt State Farm will! (ROTFLMAO) They have vast teams of specialists in looking for somebody else's deep pockets.

8 posted on 11/11/2003 4:24:33 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: Humidston
how about the school system that tells johnny it ok for 2+2+5.
no i think the problem is a little more then the parents.
9 posted on 11/11/2003 4:25:09 PM PST by camas
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To: tscislaw
>>Parenthood today: Responsibility without Authority.<<

Good point. And let me clarify... I believe in responsibility WITH authority.
10 posted on 11/11/2003 4:28:39 PM PST by Humidston (Two Words: TERM LIMITS)
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To: camas
My daughter is 14 and we can't wait until she's 18. At that point, if the cops knock on the front door, we can hand her over without being held responsible for whatever it is she did. Just the thought that she could do something like this kid did, in spite of our best efforts to parent her right, scares the hell out of me.

11 posted on 11/11/2003 4:35:22 PM PST by Not A Snowbird (One of Those Dreaded Federal Employees)
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To: Dan from Michigan
"Son, we're going to withhold your allowance until this whole thing is paid off."
12 posted on 11/11/2003 4:37:38 PM PST by Skooz (All Hail the Mighty Kansas City Chiefs: 9-0 baby)
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To: muawiyah
Paxil is bad news.. They say different drugs work for different people, but Paxil definitely changes a person's personality for the worse. My brother was on it for a while and he compared it to the kind of irritability that comes with nicotine withdrawal. [not blaming it on the drug, just as an aside]
13 posted on 11/11/2003 4:39:22 PM PST by fiscally_right
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To: Dan from Michigan
The only thing I'm worried about is if the parent's bail little Johnny out instead of making him work it off.

All I know is that if I did this at age of 15 or 16, I wouldn't be able pay for the $715,000 in damages!

I'd be dead!

14 posted on 11/11/2003 4:41:33 PM PST by TexasCajun
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To: TexasCajun
The kid is probably very, very mentally ill and it's highly unlikely he will ever earn enough money to even think of paying the smallest part of this bill.

He's scheduled for a miserable life.

15 posted on 11/11/2003 4:47:17 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: Dan from Michigan
This is a crock of horse manure. A parent caint stop a kid from getting an abortion,correct a kid, whip his or hers ass, or kick their buts out in the street whithout the libbs going ape sh--. So how in hell can you hold them responsible for their kids action. You cannot control your kids any more without them calling hs and going thru that bull sh--.
16 posted on 11/11/2003 4:48:26 PM PST by cksharks
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To: Dan from Michigan
Reck, who has scheduled a review hearing for Feb. 12, suggested to the couple that they try to get the money from their insurance carrier. <

And people wonder why premiums are so high....I don't see how someone's malicious mischief could be covered by their insurance.

17 posted on 11/11/2003 4:52:19 PM PST by stands2reason (REWARD! Tagline missing since 10/21. Pithy, clever. Last seen in Chat. Sentimental value.)
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To: fiscally_right
Paxil saved my life. It's not for everyone.
18 posted on 11/11/2003 4:54:20 PM PST by stands2reason (REWARD! Tagline missing since 10/21. Pithy, clever. Last seen in Chat. Sentimental value.)
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To: muawiyah
Why on earth should State Farm pay for the damage caused by an intentional criminal act? It's against public policy to allow a criminal to get insurance for deliberate acts of destruction.
19 posted on 11/11/2003 4:56:39 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: SandyInSeattle
Some states permit emancipated minor status for kids. The parents are no longer responsible. I believe the age is usually 16.
20 posted on 11/11/2003 4:57:08 PM PST by ladylib
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