Probation revoked in school arson

SANDPOINT — Juvenile probation has been revoked for a Bonner County boy who admitting setting fire the playground at Kootenai Elementary School last year.

The case against the boy escaped public scrutiny because it was filed under seal, court records show. However, the case was unsealed to accommodate a warrant and inadvertently left open, which enabled it to be viewed by the public on Friday.

The Daily Bee is withholding the boy’s name because the case was meant to remain sealed.

The boy, 11 at the time, admitted to setting fire to the swing set and playground on July 15, 2016, according to documents that were briefly publicly available on Friday. He was charged with one count of third-degree arson. He was further accused of setting fire to a closet and a shed in the days and weeks leading up to Kootenai Elementary School fire, resulting in two additional arson counts.

In exchange for an admission to the Kootenai school fire, which caused $15,000 in damages, the arson counts involving private property were dismissed, court records show.

The boy was sentenced to 180 days in jail with credit for 39 days, 20 days of discretionary time and 121 days suspended, according to a judgment in the case.

It’s unclear what caused his probation to be revoked because of the case’s sealing.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.