A fire was started in an outbuilding and a tractor was damaged.
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer

PARIS – Three teens were charged with Class B felonies in connection with nearly $5,000 in damage done at property on the grounds of Pine Grove Cemetery.

They were charged with burglary, aggravated criminal mischief and attempted arson.

Paris Police Chief David Verrier said the boys were 16 years old and two of them were from Paris and one from Norway.

He said the boys were referred to juvenile intake and one of the boys had a probation hold put on him because of prior history.

Windows were broken and walls smashed in the larger of the two buildings. The boys allegedly used a stone fixture, that appeared to be taken off a graveside monument, to smash the buildings and a tractor kept in the second building.

It appeared that the boys pulled the tractor from the small building before starting a stick fire inside it.

Firemen arrived and quickly extinguished the blaze, before it had time to do any damage to the structure.

Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost said two people were driving all terrain vehicles in the area and noticed the boys activities.

The ATV riders reported them to the police and called the fire department.

The boys ran from the scene, but were later apprehended by police.