Crime & Safety

Smoking Preteen Arsonists Light Trash Can on Fire

Gilroy police had some adolescent tomfoolery on their hands over the weekend.

March ended on a fiery note for the Gilroy Police Department, as officers spent Sunday evening dealing with an arson case.

At 5:59 p.m., the department responded to reports of a fire at a house on La Paloma Way.

Three kids — two 12-year-olds and an 11-year-old — had been smoking cigarettes and threw them in a metal garbage can, Sgt. Pedro Espinoza said.

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The garbage can caught fire, but there was little damage to the laundry room in which the blaze occured.

The trio of adolescent arsonists were released to their parents on scene. 

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In January of 2012, the American Lung Association gave Gilroy an F grade for its tobacco control. 


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