Three Sisters 13-year-olds charged with arson

A tip from a concerned citizen on Saturday led to the arrest of three 13-year-old Sisters boys, accused of using gasoline and a lighter to start a fire that damaged a baseball field’s “snack shack” several days earlier, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Sunday.

The sheriff’s office and Sisters Fire Department responded around 3 p.m. Tuesday to the report of a building on fire at the baseball field between Sisters Middle School and the Sisters Christian Academy at 1300 West McKenzie Highway, said sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Dizney.

Arriving first responders found a building known as the “snack shack” on fire at the rear of the building, Dizney said. Crews had the fire extinguished within 10 minutes of the first unit’s arrival, he added.

The initial investigation turned “little or no clues as to the cause of the fire,” Dizney said in a news release.

However, on Saturday, the sheriff’s office received “information from a concerned citizen … that three juveniles who attended school in Sisters were involved in the fire,” he said.

Patrol deputies and a Sisters School District school resource deputy picked up the investigation, interviewing several juveniles throughout Saturday, the sergeant said.

The boys admitted to starting the fire behind the shack, Dizney said, but he added “it was apparent that there was no intent to harm people during this incident and charges resulted in property damage only.”

One boy was charged with second-degree arson, first-degree criminal mischief and reckless burning, as well as minor in possession of alcohol, after he was found to possess a small amount of alcohol. The other two were charged with conspiracy to commit arson, criminal mischief and reckless burning.

The three juveniles were arrested and cited to appear in juvenile court, then released to their parents’ custody, Dizney said, adding that “there is no current danger to the public stemming from this incident, and this appears to be an isolated occurrence.”