Student vandals close school
BY ABIGAIL KOVACS
In the early morning hours of May 10, Bonny Eagle High School was the victim of vandalism and intrusion by three former students, whose actions resulted in an all-day cancellation of school.
According to officials interviewed by local TV station, WCSH6, the suspects entered the school through a roof hatch in the new wing, where they then proceeded to wreak havoc throughout the building.
The vandals were quickly identified as Jonathan Betancourt, 18, Cullen Dumbrocyo, 19, of Standish, and Ronny Head, 18, of Buxton. Their actions caused approximately $2,000 in damages and began in the teacher’s room, where they reportedly dumped and smashed the contents of a fridge. Next, their path of demolition continued to the old wing were the trio released fire extinguishers from the upper floors to the first floor through a stairwell on the Saco River side of the building. The suspects also went into the cafeteria and shattered the front of the new Snapple vending machines before dumping out and dispersing their contents into the hallways and cafeteria, eventually setting off alarms and causing deputies to respond.
According to police reports, at approximately 1:56 a.m, Betancourt, Dumbrocyo, and Head were arrested by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the vandalism, each charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief. Bail was set at $500 for Betancourt, while bail for Dumbrocyo and Head was not allowed. According to reports by TV station WMTW, the two former students had recently been released from Long Creek Youth Development center after being prosecuted for setting fire to the Richville Chapel in Standish four years ago.
During their May 11 court appearance, the three said they had been drinking and smoking marijuana prior to entering the building.
Lt. Donald Foss of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects in a press release issued Tuesday night, noting that the incident had “no apparent connection to and was not motivated by the recent events involving the school district, superintendent Frank Sherburne, and/or his family.”
“This all happened in a very short period of time,” the news release added. “Our alarm activated once the individual(s) entered the hallway from the new wing teacher’s room… [and] this was simply an act of vandalism for the sake of vandalism.”
Despite these reassurances, many have taken to social media to express their views on the recent turbulence in the district. Many students are angered at the negative way in which BE has recently been portrayed, and want to refute certain stereotypes that they feel have been unfairly heaped upon them by members of the community and the media.
“I think they [the media] are blowing many of the issues out of proportion. I don’t know if the people who are criticizing BE are getting the full facts or understanding what the real issues are,” explained junior Lindsay Gleason. “This isn’t a bad school. We’re not all criminals or ‘bad’ kids, there are actually a lot of bright individuals here.”
“I feel like the students who comment on how bad the school is are the people who make the school bad,” agreed Jake Cook, also a junior, adding that “people need to understand Bonny Eagle is a huge school, so there are a greater variety of people.”
To add to the consequences of the break-in, the AP United States Government and Politics exam set to take place that day was forced to be rescheduled to May 18. However, Ms. Dawna Cyr remains hopeful that she and Ms. Breanna Bellefontaine-Krupski’s government classes will perform well on the exam.
“Needless to say, we were all very upset in the beginning,” explained Ms. Cyr. “We were pumped up and ready to go, then the rug got pulled out from underneath us. Our students will be taking a different version of the test and we hope that it is not harder than the original. We know we have prepared [them] as best we can and hopefully they will be successful.”
As of now, the three suspects are set to appear in court sometime in July.
In the early morning hours of May 10, Bonny Eagle High School was the victim of vandalism and intrusion by three former students, whose actions resulted in an all-day cancellation of school.
According to officials interviewed by local TV station, WCSH6, the suspects entered the school through a roof hatch in the new wing, where they then proceeded to wreak havoc throughout the building.
The vandals were quickly identified as Jonathan Betancourt, 18, Cullen Dumbrocyo, 19, of Standish, and Ronny Head, 18, of Buxton. Their actions caused approximately $2,000 in damages and began in the teacher’s room, where they reportedly dumped and smashed the contents of a fridge. Next, their path of demolition continued to the old wing were the trio released fire extinguishers from the upper floors to the first floor through a stairwell on the Saco River side of the building. The suspects also went into the cafeteria and shattered the front of the new Snapple vending machines before dumping out and dispersing their contents into the hallways and cafeteria, eventually setting off alarms and causing deputies to respond.
According to police reports, at approximately 1:56 a.m, Betancourt, Dumbrocyo, and Head were arrested by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the vandalism, each charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief. Bail was set at $500 for Betancourt, while bail for Dumbrocyo and Head was not allowed. According to reports by TV station WMTW, the two former students had recently been released from Long Creek Youth Development center after being prosecuted for setting fire to the Richville Chapel in Standish four years ago.
During their May 11 court appearance, the three said they had been drinking and smoking marijuana prior to entering the building.
Lt. Donald Foss of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects in a press release issued Tuesday night, noting that the incident had “no apparent connection to and was not motivated by the recent events involving the school district, superintendent Frank Sherburne, and/or his family.”
“This all happened in a very short period of time,” the news release added. “Our alarm activated once the individual(s) entered the hallway from the new wing teacher’s room… [and] this was simply an act of vandalism for the sake of vandalism.”
Despite these reassurances, many have taken to social media to express their views on the recent turbulence in the district. Many students are angered at the negative way in which BE has recently been portrayed, and want to refute certain stereotypes that they feel have been unfairly heaped upon them by members of the community and the media.
“I think they [the media] are blowing many of the issues out of proportion. I don’t know if the people who are criticizing BE are getting the full facts or understanding what the real issues are,” explained junior Lindsay Gleason. “This isn’t a bad school. We’re not all criminals or ‘bad’ kids, there are actually a lot of bright individuals here.”
“I feel like the students who comment on how bad the school is are the people who make the school bad,” agreed Jake Cook, also a junior, adding that “people need to understand Bonny Eagle is a huge school, so there are a greater variety of people.”
To add to the consequences of the break-in, the AP United States Government and Politics exam set to take place that day was forced to be rescheduled to May 18. However, Ms. Dawna Cyr remains hopeful that she and Ms. Breanna Bellefontaine-Krupski’s government classes will perform well on the exam.
“Needless to say, we were all very upset in the beginning,” explained Ms. Cyr. “We were pumped up and ready to go, then the rug got pulled out from underneath us. Our students will be taking a different version of the test and we hope that it is not harder than the original. We know we have prepared [them] as best we can and hopefully they will be successful.”
As of now, the three suspects are set to appear in court sometime in July.