The Lee County School District is on the hook for thousands of dollars after a damaging prank at Estero High School early Tuesday morning. A group of eight suspects was caught on camera trespassing on school grounds, before evidently using glue and toothpicks to jam the locks of about 30 classroom doors.
The grainy surveillance video does not identify the intruders, but Trish Routte of Crime Stoppers believes that most, if not all, are Estero High School students. She thinks one of them may be an adult.
"Maybe it's a senior prank, but it caused about $4,000 in damage, and that's money that the taxpayers have to front up," Routte said.
She's hoping that officers or school staff will learn who the vandals are through the grapevine.
"All we need is for for somebody to overhear something," Routte said. "If we get one name, I think we'll get all eight."
"I've heard they're trying to find out who did it, but nobody really knows who it was," Estero High School student Mercedes Bacon said Wednesday.
"I think it was just a prank," she added. "I don't think it was intended to go as far as it did."
Student Haley Ribas said teachers had to climb through windows to get the stuck classroom doors open.
"I know they were really annoyed," she said. "But I don't know how they deal with senior pranks."
A Lee County School District spokesperson said she wasn't yet sure how the district would deal with those responsible.
Routte said that the legal system would deal with them through jail time.
"Or, if you're a senior and you were one of those kids, you may not walk the stage (at graduation) next weekend," Routte said.
She said that the very least of the criminal charges the suspects would face is trespassing.
